On A Broken Wing
by Used.To.Be.Something.279
Summary: (Requested) Ali is a nice girl. She does everything her parents want, but sometimes it isn't enough. Along the way she meets a Johnny, a person who she can trust. So, as their relationship slowly blossoms, they get closer, and closer, and everything's just perfect. That is, until tragedy strikes, because then, one is left with a broken heart, while the other has just left.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, here I am, bringing you an absolute wonderful story from a wonderful account (Iconic Star Child). They have asked me to write a new story and I humbly agreed. The whole plot was their idea, and I have to say it was amazing. They also wrote the ideas for the chapter, but it was like in general, more broad ideas, so that I could get the idea. And you know me, I add some stuff. Some depth and more detail. So anyways. Enjoy!**

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 **On a Broken Wing**

 **3rd Pov:**

 **Pony ran and ran as fast as he could** , his face was throbbing dully. He couldn't, no, he didn't want to believe what had just happened. His chest was hurting and his legs were aching, getting more tired by the second, but he had to find Johnny. _Johnny will understand_ , he thought frantically. He didn't even know what to think anymore, his mind was jumbled with thoughts that weren't really true. _I knew it. Darry doesn't want me. He only loves Soda! He wants to put me in a boy's home. I shoulda known!_

For one second, as Pony ran by some trees and looked up at the starry night, he forgot what he was running for. The cold wind that rushed past him calmed him down a little. He started to slow down and took a good look up at the sky, and thought that it was really pretty how the stars were shining bright.

But, only then when he closed his eyes, it hit him like a speeding bullet. The actual realization of what Darry had done. The actual realization of what it could have meant.

 _Oh, god. Darry hit me. He hit me!_ He kept thinking. He tried to push the thought down, but it was killing him. _Why? Why?_

Pony's sore and hurting face was a constant reminder of what Darry had done, and no matter what tried to do to forget it, he couldn't. Anger and sadness were eating away at him.

 _I wonder if'll I'll get a big bruise now,_ he thought sadly. _I bet when Darry sees it, he's going to be sad he ever hit me_ . . . And then his eyes were suddenly clouded by tears from what he kept thinking. He was dreading the tomorrow, and the reality of what Darry might do, or even what Ponyboy was going to do, to get back at Darry.

The tears that were threatening to spill onto his face, were getting heavier by the second. But he didn't want to let them go. Not just yet. He wanted to talk about it with his best friend. Someone he thought would understand.

And when Ponyboy saw Johnny laying down the ground in the lot, he ran faster. He just wanted to talk to Johnny, to tell him what happened.

Johnny, who had just dozed off jumped up about three feet in the air when Pony had just collapsed on top of him gasping for breath. Pony sucked in big breaths and tried to explain what happened, but when Pony was unable to, Johnny grew confused. Johnny knew Pony wanted to say something, so he stayed quiet so he could be able to hear what Pony wanted to say.

Pony on the other hand, was conflicted. He didn't know what to say. _Johnny has gone through worse that me, he might think that I'm overreacting . . . Shoot, I think I actually deserved it_ , he thought miserably. His hands were slightly shaking and he kept furrowing his eyebrows. Tears were clouding his vision again, and he forcefully swallowed the lump in his throat down. He couldn't cry. _I have no right to. I deserved it. What happened to me was nothing compared to what happened to Johnny . . ._

Johnny stared at Pony in the dark. And since Johnny couldn't see much, he didn't know that Pony was close to tears, but he knew that he was upset about something. So, Johnny being most understanding and wonderful friend anyone could ever have, spoke.

"What happened Pony?" He asked now, fully awake and fully aware that Pony was very upset since he had heard him sniffle loudly. "What happened?"

And as soon as Johnny spoke those words, Pony took a deep breath and opened his mouth to explain. Only, there were no words that came out of this mouth, instead, there was a strangled cry that Pony had so hoped wouldn't escape. But as soon as it was out, he broke down. He began to cry and it wasn't small crying, where no one made a sound. It was loud wailing and it shook his small body, and Johnny grew scared. He didn't know what had happened, and he knew Pony didn't really cry over anything. Yet there he was bawling his eyes out over something.

Johnny felt this nervous feeling creeping up his stomach. _What happened to him?_ he asked himself as he took a good look a Pony.

They stayed silent, except for Pony's cries, but after he finally calmed down enough to talk, he uttered some words that he was never able to take back and would some day learn not to regret.

"Hey, Johnny lets run away." **[A/N: I know, it's not the exact words from the book, but idc]**

Johnny didn't ask any questions, and with that, both of them stood up and ran several blocks before both of them stopped. Pony who was out of breath, gasping, and still crying at the same time, sat down on the curb and buried his head in his knees. Johnny sat down next to him, and finally got the courage to talk, "It's going to be okay Pony, easy . . ."

Pony took in a deep intake of air and let out a quivering breath, "Gotta cigarette?" He asked quietly and Johnny took no time to hand him one. He even lit it up for him, and Pony felt a better knowing that at least his friend cared.

They kept quiet for a few seconds before Pony suddenly spoke. "I'm scared," he said out of the blue.

Johnny was a little surprised at what his friend had said, his serious face didn't falter though, he didn't want Pony to know that he was feeling conflicted himself. He was worried about his friend. He didn't seem happy for the past few days, and Johnny wanted to know what was occurring in his life.

And at that moment Johnny got the courage to ask him what happened. "Well, don't be. You're scarin' me. What happened? I never seen you bawl like that."

Pony debated on what he should say. After all, he did think he overreacted a little bit, but it still hurt him what Darry had done to him. The physical pain was subsiding, but his emotions were out of whack. He felt like Darry didn't care about him before, and now, everything had just gotten worse.

He closed his eyes. "I don't very often. It was Darry. H-he hit me. I just don't know what happened, but I couldn't take him hollering at me and hitting me too. I don't know... sometimes we get along okay, then all of a sudden he blows up on me or else is naggin' at me all the time. He didn't use to be like that... we used to get along okay... before Mom and Dad died. Now he just can't stand me."

Johnny nodded to try to reassure him that he understood, but Pony just felt dumb once his words were out of his mouth. Johnny felt sympathy for his friend, he really did, but Pony didn't seem to register this.

"I think I like it better when the old man's hittin' me." Johnny began and sighed deeply. "At least then I know he knows who I am. I walk in that house, and nobody says anything. I walk out, and nobody says anything. I stay away all night, and nobody notices. At least you got Soda. I ain't got nobody."

Ponyboy felt even worse now, when he heard what Johnny had said. He even felt bad. No scratch that, he felt horrible. Pony had been right. _I was overreacting . . ._ He thought solemnly.

"Shoot," he said out loud, feeling down in the dumps. "You got the whole gang. Gee Johnny, Dally didn't slug you tonight 'cause you're the pet. I mean, golly, you got the whole gang."

Johnny smiled sincerely at his friend's attempt to make him feel better. He looked down and then looked back up at the sky, surveying all the constellation he didn't know the names of. "It ain't the same as having your own folks care about you," Johnny said simply. "It just ain't the same."

After that, Pony began to feel guilty that he was dumping all of his problems on his best friend. Johnny had is worse at home and he didn't go on crying and complaining all the time. _What a good friend I am_ , Pony thought sadly.

Just as that, his anger he had once had, had faded. He had begun to feel very sleepy, after all he hadn't gotten a good night's rest and had woken up several times.

At the same time he kept doubting himself, thinking if it was such a good idea to run away. He just wanted to be at home and get in bed with his other brother Soda.

He took another deep breath in and wipes his eyes with his sleeve. He had stopped crying for the time being and decided that the only way he was going to fully calm down, was to take a little stroll. "Let's walk to the park and back. Then maybe I'll be cooled off enough to go home."

Johnny didn't object, "Okay," he said easily. "Okay."

Both of them stood up, brushed themselves and headed to the park.

 _Things gotta get better,_ he thought. _They can't get worse._

But boy, he was dead wrong.

 **THE PARK** that the boys were headed to, was about two blocks square. It had a fountain in the middle and a small swimming pool for the little kids.

Pony was regretting the fact that he hadn't gotten any source of warmth from a jacket or something. He rubbed his arms and tried to imagine himself at the beach where it was warm. Instead, Pony felt even colder as he snapped back to reality.

Johnny buttoned his jeans jacket and flipped up the collar, and took a good look at Pony. "Ain't you about to freeze to death, Pony?"

"You ain't a'woofin'," Pony replied and hugged himself as he took long drags on his cigarette.

He began to say something when all of a sudden, both of them were startled by a loud car horn. They both jumped high off the ground and looked at each other, fear clearly etched on their faces.

Both of them froze when they spotted a blue Mustang was circling the park silently

The car was pulling slowly down the vacant street and Pony thought that it was getting creepier on the Eastside. He gulped and looked a Johnny again. _Looks like a horror movie where Freddie Kruger would come and kill someone_ . . . he thought.

Johnny was more nervous than he had ever felt before. Pony was too, but Johnny on the other hand was going to act nonchalantly. He swore not so nice words under his breath, and Pony muttered, "What do they want? This is our territory. What are Socs doing this far east?"

Johnny shook his head. He was sick with worry, for him and for Pony. Then all of a sudden, he remembered why the Socs would have liked to get them back. "I don't know. But I bet they're looking for us. We picked up their girls."

"Oh, glory," Pony said with a small groan, "This is all I need to top off a perfect night."

He shakily took one last drag of his cigarette and dropped it down onto the ground, stomping it under the stub of his heel. He now regretted ever going to the park. Anxiety was starting to fill his stomach and started to climb up to his throat. He tried desperately to calm himself down.

"Want to run for it?" Pony asked looking around for somewhere they could run off to. Johnny thought it was a good idea, until he saw that the car doors had opened.

"It's too late now," Johnny whispered and took a step back. "Here they come."

Five Socs were coming straight towards them, and when Pony and Johnny noticed that they were staggering, Pony grew more scared. Johnny stiffened beside him. He knew a cool deadly bluff could sometimes shake them off, but not if they outnumbered you five to two and were drunk.

Both of them knew the reality of this situation, and both knew something bad was going to happen.

Johnny looked around frantically as tried to think of something. His eyes widened when he thankfully remembered that he had his blade at hand, and his fingers went to his back pocket.

Pony who caught him moving his arm, recalled that Johnny had his switchblade with him, and was desperately wishing that he had a weapon, or maybe even the broken bottle from back at where they had watch the movie. _Oh, if only . . ._

Johnny was scared to death and Pony saw this. He noticed that Johnny was as white as a ghost and his eyes were wild-looking, like the eyes of an animal in a trap. They had both backed against the fountain and as they saw the Socs surrounded them.

Pony almost gagged loudly at how bad and strong they smelled. Whiskey and English Leather were choking off all the fresh air that might've calmed down the boys. Pony closed his eyes and wished silently. _I wish that Darry and Soda were here._ He knew that the four of them could handle the Socs easily.

But unfortunately no one was around to help them, and Ponyboy knew that Johnny and him were going to have to fight it out alone. He noticed that Johnny had a blank, tough look on his face, but Pony knew that he was scared. And only when he looked close enough, he was able to see the panic in his eyes.

Pony stared at the Socs coolly, thinking that since they were drunk and they couldn't scare them to death, at least they didn't want it showing.

Pony and Johnny realized that the Socs were made up of Randy and Bob and three other Socs, and they recognized them.

Johnny noticed that when they got closer, one of them was wearing rings. He felt himself choke up. _He- he was the one._ He thought, anger and fright rising in his head. He watched the moonlight glint off Bob's rings with his eyes.

"Hey, whatta ya know?" Bob said and staggered forward, "here's the little greasers that picked up our girls. Hey, greasers."

Johnny took this chance to say something. He lowered his voice so it sounded menacing. "You're outta your territory. You'd better watch it."

Pony was observing Johnny and he slouched, to make it seem that they weren't worried at all.

Randy looked at them and laughed at what he thought wasn't a threat. He swore at them and they stepped closer.

Bob was eyeing Johnny, who was trying his best not to tremble. "Nup, pal, yer the ones who'd better watch it. Next time you want a broad, pick up yer own kind- dirt."

Pony felt himself getting mad. Johnny felt the same but wasn't about to let his guard down with a group of Socs. He ignored it and stayed silent. These words didn't falter him, because he had heard even worse out of the mouths of his parents.

Then Bob smiled evilly. "You know what a greaser is?" he asked and looked around. "White trash with long hair." He finished, and spat out the last words. He turned around to face his friends. They snickered.

Pony and Johnny stayed silent, trying to comprehend the insult that had hit them hard.

This time, Johnny indeed reacted and let out a small gasp. However on the inside he was fuming. _They have no right to call us that! They're the trash, jumping greaser kids to old people . . ._

Johnny stayed silent, but you could probably tell that he was ready to beat anyone who stood in his way. If only, he had the power to.

Pony felt weird when he heard those words. Of course he he heard other things, 100 times worse than what Bob had said, yet it made him angry.

"You know what a Soc is?" Pony yelled, his voice was shaking with rage. "White trash with Mustangs and madras."

Poor Pony, and because he didn't have anything else insulting to say, he spat at them, and the drunken Soc's rationality snapped.

Bob shook his head, smiling slowly. "You could use a bath, greaser. And a good working over. And we've got all night to do it. Give the kid a bath, David."

That's when all Hell broke loose.

David, the other Soc ran towards Pony and caught him in a deadly tight grip. He shoved him into the fountain, Pony's arm was twisted behind him, and David grabbed Pony by the back on his neck and kept him in that position. "How do you like your bath, Greaser!?" He screamed and the others laughed. They began to heads towards Johnny, who was wide eyed. Johnny's words that were going to be directed to Pony, were caught in his throat as he saw Pony grabbed, repeatedly dunked into the fountain. _Oh god,_ Johnny thought, his heart beating fast. His legs turning into Jello. _They're going to kill us._ He gulped.

Pony, had tried to make a run for it of course, but he too, was caught off guard. He didn't actually think someone would try to kill a kid, much less him. Even though Pony was smaller compared to the Socs, he fought. And he fought hard, with all his might as he tried to escape.

"Like it down there, you're going to stay down there for a long time!" David laughed and pushed Ponyboy farther down into the fountain, yet to bring him back up again, gasping for breath before he was dunked back in.

Johnny was chased down and tackled by the others, not far from where Pony was struggling. And as they threw him on the ground he vowed to get revenge on them and that he would give them the satisfaction that they were really hurting him. The socs kicked hard, everywhere on his body and it wasn't just a few times. It was everywhere, and then when a sudden kick landed into his rib, he yelped out loud, unable to control the pain. The Socs laughed and continued to beat him.

Oh my, it was such a sad sight to see.

 **Somewhere close by, there was a small looking girl** with her short blond hair tied up in a ponytail with a small curl that came down. And every time she walked, it would bounce up. She was wearing a short red mini skirt and a long sleeved white top. And to anyone,she looked like a Soc. But then again, what was a Soc, doing in greaser territory way past the middle of the night? And where was she going?

Well, only reason she was outside, was because she was trying to look for her brother. Bob Sheldon. The girl was scared, being all by herself at night in the park, but she didn't want to go back home. Now without her brother at least. She growled silently as another small rush of wind hit her bare legs. _God damn it Bob, where did you run off to with your friends?_ She thought angrily. _If dad wasn't home, I wouldn't have to be looking for your lazy butt . . ._

And as she unknowingly made her way closer to where all the commotion was occurring, she heard loud grunts. Then she let out a breath and thought she had found her brother and his friends. _They must be playing tag or something_ , she thought with relief.

But as she got closer she was met by a horrifying sight.

There in the middle of the park, was her brother, and his friends, beating some boy. She gasped and took a step back as she looked around. Her eye caught another figure bent over the fountain, and as she squinted to try to see what was happening, she saw that is was David. One of her brother's friends, holding a boy and ducking him under the water.

Her eyes widened and she felt her heart start to beat faster. She was clamming up as she saw one of the older boys hit the other young boy straight in the ribs. She shrunk back when she heard the impact, and small yelp. She felt bad, but then again, she knew that her brother must have been drunk. Bob, wouldn't be this reckless and do this if he wasn't drunk. She thought and closed her eyes. _Right?_

But she knew deep down in her heart that no one deserved to be treated like that. She had to stop it. She didn't want others to feel what she had been feeling for so long. Pain.

And it didn't matter if she didn't know the boys, she took a deep breath and walked towards them.

She noticed that the younger tanned boy had stopped moving, and after one of the older guys gave him one last kick to the leg, they all went off to the other boy who was struggling. She raced to the boy in the fountain because he was still conscious, and he still had the risk of dying. _Please, don't let me be too late,_ she pleaded.

Then all of a sudden the tanned boy came out of nowhere, holding a switchblade. And he was headed to Bob, who was holding the boy down. _No_ , she gasped quietly. _No, I have to stop Bob, before the kid-!_

She ran ahead of the limping and gasping boy and swiftly snuck up and grabbed Bob's arms then shoved him to the ground, his friends jumped back.

Bob, spun around in a rage and was about to punch the perpetrator when he recognized the face. "The hell? ALI!?" he hissed at let go of the auburn haired boy. The tanned younger guy ran to him and threw him onto the grass. _They're safe now,_ she thought and turned to give her brother a cold look. Johnny watched, stunned at what was happening. He shook Ponyboy and started to drag him away from the other Socs. They saw what was happening and she stood in front of them.

Johnny watched from afar, and was amazed that this was happening.

"You're a monster!" she yelled at her brother who took a step back and eyed his friends. They were sizing her up but she didn't back down. Ah, she was a tough one alright.

Bob sighed and told his friends to back off. He took a step forwards and bent down to her level. "Come on this is a Greaser we're talking about! They're basically worthless!"

Once those words were out of this mouth Bob regretted them . He knew his sister didn't' care, and even though he was drunk he knew his sister could still pack a punch. She didn't care about the social status' around here. If someone needed help, she went for it. The girl stared at her brother and her face turned red from anger.

"Right now, you're horrible!" she hissed and poked her finger at his nose. He rolled his eyes.

"You can't tell me what to do!" he slurred and stomped his foot like a baby.

 _Well, that's what alcohol can do to you_ , she thought sadly, too familiar with this scene.

Johnny was slapping Pony in the face, and then he started to pump his chest when he didn't react. _Come on Pone, you can't do this to me!_ He thought in a panic _. You can't do this to the gang. Your brothers!_  
Pony suddenly sat up and spewed water out of his mouth. He blinked, looked around and was surprised. He began to cough and vomit water until he got enough strength to sit back up again. Thank god! Johnny said and put his switch blade away, He let out a small groan when he stretched out too much, forgetting that he had just been beaten up. I bet my ribs are broken, he thought.

Pony was confused and I mean really confused. He was mumbling and looking around. "What happened?" he whispered and looked at Johnny. He turned around and saw the Socs, he immediately lowered his voice until you could barely hear it. "What?"

Then both the girl and Bob, erupted into loud arguing and the the Socs eyed them uneasily. They smiled crookedly and wobbled back to their car when Bob shooed them away, and even though the boys couldn't understand what was being said, they understood it was getting heated. The girl was pushing Bob, and he was shoving her. It was getting ugly. Their voices were raising.

"What's going on?" Pony whispered through chattering teeth, His heart was beating fast, adrenaline running through his body after what he had been through.

"I don't know." he whispered back. "She came outta nowhere." He looked at Pony and started to shake. "You know, I was going to kill him." -Pony snapped back at stared at Johnny - "He was holding you down, and he wasn't going to move. I- I was going to kill him." He choked out the last words and stopped talking.

"Then the girl went up to him and grabbed him, and dropped you."

Pony was about to open his mouth to say something when Johnny cut him off. "I thought, I thought you were dead Pony," Johnny said, his big eyes wide and scared looking. I can't believe, I was going to kill that boy, Johnny thought as he stared past Pony who was giving him an incredulous look towards the couple.

"Is that his girlfriend?" Pony asked.

"No, I don't think it is at least. Remember what he said? He was going to give us a lesson for picking up his girls. Cherry was, no is, his girlfriend," he looked at the boy and girl. "Well, I hope she still is."

Pony was shaking, and when I say shaking, I mean shaking. The cold wind was making it colder for him, and Johnny saw that, So he painfully and slowly removed his jacket and draped it across Ponyboy.

Then the voices stopped all of a sudden and then both of them looked back, Bob had disappeared and the girl was just standing there. She sighed and turned to the boys.

 _Here I go,_ she thought and closed her eyes. _I hope Bob, forgives me. I know I did the right thing. Well, I hope I did . . ._

The boys stared at her as she made her way to them,

"Is she, is she coming towards us?" Pony asked bewildered.

"I don't know, I think she is," Johnny whispered and rubbed his sore leg.

"Hey, are you kids okay...?" the girl asked, as she ran to them. Both of the boys watched her in wonder.

 _\- That's one tuff blonde, for her to stand up to Bob that way_ . . . Pony thought.

 _\- Wow, I didn't think we'd get out alive if it wasn't for her_ , Johnny thought.

"Thank you for helping us," Johnny quietly said and the girl nodded. She looked flustered.

"I'm glad I could help you two boys out, Man, I don't know what would have happened if I didn't get there in time, I don't even want to imagine it . . . "

No words were exchanged after she said that, because what she said had been true. The girl stood up and brushed herself off and was about to excuse herself and wish them luck, and leave, when Pony said something.

"What's your name?" Pony asked between breaths, his teeth softly chattering as he hugged himself.

The tanned boy looked at her and she felt her stomach twist up. _Weird_ , she thought. _Maybe I'm sick . . ._

The girl stared at both of the boys and wondered if she should say her name. She shrugged off the feeling that something bad was going to happen, because she assumed these boys were harmless, and they were.

She sat down by them and smiled.

"My name is Ali. Ali Sheldon."

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 **OOPs, I'm sorry was that too rushed? Well, anyways, excuse any spelling mistakes (sorry)**

 **And I hoped you enjoyed the story. If you want me to add anything feel free to PM me or review! Until next time BYe!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, I now present to you, chapter two. Oh, and Hinton owns the boys, But I'm pretty sure Iconic Star Girl owns the OC girls. Anyways Enjoy. SOrry I took so long, I was just procrastinating, you know. the usual. OH, and also, Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

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 **Ponyboy's Pov**

My teeth were chattering loudly. I was shaking from the cold and the adrenaline that was pumping through my veins from what had just happened. And the wind that was blowing right past me, was making me colder. My heart was beating one hundred miles per hour and I was breathing hard, trying to catch my breath. I gulped slowly, my throat feeling sore. My mouth tasting like the food I had eaten a few hours back. I couldn't believe that the Socs, no a group of . . . of people, had tried to take the life of another person. It didn't matter about our social classes anymore, this was the real thing. A person taking a life of another, or trying too, was just taking it too far.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down. _What would have happened, if I actually died?_ I thought, my heartbeat pumping loudly in my ears. _What would Darry and Soda do? How would they have reacted?_

I gulped again and hugged myself. I opened my eyes and stared. Stared at nothing, because when you were about to be drowned, killed even, you have to think about your life. What would have happened if they had succeeded?

Suddenly someone was shaking my shoulder, but I couldn't concentrate enough. I could only stare at the things in front of me, and even thought I was staring, I couldn't make out the objects that I was looking at. It was just blurry, out of focus, like in a camera that's lens were broken. Like when you put someone else's glasses on that weren't yours.

I knew though, that it was Johnny who was shaking me, but I didn't react. I couldn't react.

Then I snapped out of it and everything came into focus, my ears were filled with noises of the darkness and I heard Johnny breathing heavily beside me. It sounded like he was in pain.

I turned to face him. "Johnny," I began, my voice quivering. I couldn't control it. "What happened?"

He didn't answer and just looked at me. "I already told you," he said whispering, worry etched in his voice. I shook my head, no, he didn't ask me. Or did he? I was so out of it, I didn't even know what I was doing. Johnny was crouched beside me and he was looking straight ahead, his eyes wide open, his switchblade in his hand, ready to be put in use. He looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. I slowly moved my head to where he was staring at and I saw _it_. No, _her_.

Right in front of us, was a girl, only a few yards away, talking back to a Soc. A _Soc_ , but when I scrunched my eyes to see better, I saw that she had nice looking clothing, so she must have been a Soc too. She was small looking, short and I small frame with . . . blonde hair? tied up in a high ponytail.

I had a small conversation with Johnny before the Socs left and the girl made her way over to us.

"Is she, is she coming towards us?" I asked, bewildered. _Why would a Socs help us_? I thought.

"I don't know, I think she is." He whispered back. We didn't even need to be quiet, but here we were whispering to each other. Afraid of what was going to happen next. And afraid of what had just happened.

"Hey, are you kids okay?" the girl asked. I looked at her, and Johnny did too. Was she talking to us?

I thought she was strong, not that she really looked like it, but she was strong at heart. For being able to get the Socs, and Bob away from us.

"Thank you for helping us," Johnny quietly mumbled all of a sudden. The girl looked down and nodded. "I'm glad I could help you two boys out, Man, I don't know what would have happened if I didn't get there in time, I don't even want to imagine it . . . "

Those words hit me hard and all those emotions started to build up in my chest again. What would have happened if she hadn't come? If Johnny hadn't pulled me out? I shut my eyes and started to speak. "What's your name?" I asked hugging myself.

"My name is Ali. Ali Sheldon."

My mouth dropped. Did she just say Sheldon? Wasn't that Bob's last name?

She stared at us, like she was expecting something.

"What?" I choked out, my voice sounding frail.

"Ali Sheldon." She repeated and stood up. _Ali_ , took a look around and stared at us. "So are you boys okay?"

I blinked once. Twice. Was she talking to us? Was she _actually_ talking to us?

"Yeah, we're fine." Johnny whispered and slowly put his blade away.

Then she frowned and crossed her arms. I shivered again. "The auburn haired boy looks okay to me, but you don't. I saw you. Being beat up like that," she took a step forward and Johnny looked at me. "Your ribs must be bruised. Do you guys have anywhere to go?"

"My house." I whispered so softly that no one heard me, but I was wrong.

She brought her attention back to me. "What? What did you say?"

"M-my house." I repeated and slowly stood up. "We have to get to my house."

Johnny stood up and clutched his side. "Pony, but I thought-"

"No." I snapped, my voice rising. It had almost a pleading manner to it, and my heart began to pound again. Then I lowered my voice."We have to go back."

The girl, Ali, didn't ask any questions. _What was is girl doing all by herself here?_ I thought, but she only nodded and looked at both of us again. "Lead the way."

I looked at her, feeling sick. "You're coming with us?"

She stayed quiet for a second and looked away. "Well I don't see why not." She began and started to walk in front of us. I took a step forward, Johnny leaned against me. "I might as well, it's not like I have anything better to do. At least let me see that you guys go home safely."

"But you're a girl. In greaser territory. Early in the morning. All alone."

She raised an eyebrow, "And? I can take care of myself."

I shut my mouth, because I thought she was offended. And she did looked offended. We walked beside her, heading to the house. Johnny was dragging his feet and huffing out. He must be in pain, I thought. The wind blew harder and I almost fell with the weight that was added to my own. My legs were shaky, like a newborn baby dear.

I closed my eyes and kept walking, until we were right there. The house was right in front of us and the lights were on.

"Johnny," my voice was a hoarse whisper. My stomach was twisting up in knots. "Johnny, I don't think I can do it."

 _Darry had hit me. That meant that he didn't want me. It was proof that he didn't want me._

"Don't think you can do what?" Ali asked.

"Ponyboy, you know he didn't mean it."

I shook my head. And Johnny sighed. "Come on Pony, we have to go."

 **SMALL TIME SKIP CAUSE I'M TOO LAZY**

Darry jumped up when he heard the front door open. He and Soda had wide eyes, and they were a bit red. Was that right?

I squinted, trying to see if what I had just seen, had been true. Red? Red eyes on Darry?

I dragged Johnny towards the couch and slowly laid him down. He let out a sigh of relief. .

"Ponyboy!" Soda exclaimed and stopped noticing that there was a girl beside us. "Who's the gir-"

He was cut off my Darry who gently pushed past him. "Ponyboy," he said, his voice . . _quivering? No, he's just acting, putting up a fake game_ , I thought and was cut off from my thoughts when Darry continued. "Ponyboy, you know I didn't mean it."

Everything sounded so, so far away. The girl, Ali, was giving me a weird look. I bet I looked like crap, and I certainly felt like it. I was still shivering, and my clothes were wet. I hope Darry didn't yell at me for soaking the carpet.

"It's okay Darry, it's okay," I whispered and everything started to look blurry. I blinked a few times so that it would go away, but I could only see static. "It's okay." I managed out and that was when the ground came up to meet my face. Very fast.

 **Ali's Pov**

I looked down and the boy, who apparently was called Ponyboy, in wonder. He had just fallen, no, he had fainted. His brothers rushed over to him, and carried him out. The taller and scarier one had said he was sorry. Hmm, I wonder what that meant, I thought, but since it was none of my business, I decided to stop thinking. Now that I knew he was in the right place and home safely, that meant I could leave.

I looked around the room, and noticed that it was really run down. It was really bad looking, and I didn't want to be rude, but frankly it looked like crap. I understood that Greasers had it rough in their financial lives, but I hadn't been expecting it to be so bad. I wasn't really judging, but my house was way better in decoration and size and space. But by looking at the people living here and how they had reacted when their little brother had fainted and how quickly they had taken action to help him, I had to say that the people were better here. I didn't have that at my home.

The whole room made me sad because of what I was missing, of what a young girl was missing with her family. So, I turned around and went to open the door to take my leave when a small voice whispered out to me.

"Hey, Ali?"

I spun around. I had forgotten the boy. His friend, Ponyboy, had called him . . . Johnny, I think?

"Yes?" I replied and looked at the small dark tanned boy who was lying on the couch. He looked like he was in pain. _Maybe I should stay_ , I thought, but then shook the weird feeling in my stomach. _No, he can be taken care of by his group of friends. Besides, I don't even know him. Anyways, I'm an uninvited guest who had to come here to make sure the boys were safe from harm_.

"I want to thank you again. For saving us." he said and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. It was a deep sigh, and a raspy one. It made me shiver on how that sigh sounded so eerily familiar. Except this time it wasn't coming from me, but from another young boy, who had been at the wrong place and the wrong time.

I felt bad for some reason, leaving him here, unattended. I hated it when I was just left there, so I changed my mind.

"Is your name Johnny?" I asked and he nodded slowly "Alright Johnny tell me where the first aid kit is at."

He raised an eyebrow and I felt my stomach cramp up. _Weird, I have to take some medicine when I get home_ , I thought. "Why?" he asked.

I gave him a are-you-really-asking-why look. "You know," I pointed at his side. "Your injuries."

He shot me a small smile and I saw genuine honesty "Nah, I can take care of it myself." his smile faded and his voice wavered. "This is nothing," he added so softly, he thought that I wouldn't hear, but I had. I assumed and guessed he hadn't wanted me to hear it, so I didn't point it out. After all, if I had said something like that, I didn't want it to be pointed out. I wouldn't know how to explain it and I wouldn't want to, especially to a stranger. Someone I had just met, someone that may have saved my life a little over ten minutes ago. But if I had been in that situation, didn't matter, because I wouldn't' have even said my name.

"Okay," I said softly and made my way over to the beat up looking door. "Thank you, for giving me a chance." I was about to say see you, but then I stopped myself. That wasn't going to happen because he was a greaser and I was . . . another person. No not in today's society, not in this town. Here, I was seen as a Soc, but I felt like anyone else would feel. Human, only a little more broken.

He was about to say something else, but I didn't want to stay any longer, I didn't want to speak anymore, I didn't want to do anything anymore, so I ran out. I didn't want to get close to anybody, because if you made that mistake, you'd end up regretting it. I had, so I didn't want to take any chances. And sometimes, you could relate and feel at home, or even feel that you had found your long lost best friend, or even share the same feelings or thoughts with a stranger. But I didn't want that to happen, because if I started to speak, everything would flow out all at once, and that would only cause more problems. I didn't want to drag someone else down with me.

I jogged over the the park where all the action had occurred and I hid in the shadows, so that no greasers or anybody would be able to spot me. Not that anyone would be awake at around 3 am, but you never know, after all, a group of socs, and two greasers had been awake.

I looked up at the night sky, and saw that it was cloudy. They weren't rain clouds, but I knew it was not going to be a nice day tomorrow. I smelled the fresh air that was whisked past me and I sighed.

I looked around to see if I could stay anywhere for the night, and spotted a tree. A nice flowing tree with long limbs that waved with the wind. It looked comfortable and I decided to climb it.

The rough and smooth surfaces that ran through my fingers made me realize that nature is really beautiful, even if you live in a horrible city with a horrible life, horrible parents and horrible everything, there could still be beauty in the most simplest places. Even if the rest of the world was evil and harsh.

I reached up to the last branch and hauled myself up, and steadily sat down, making sure I would fall. I was wedged in between to branches, securely.

I began to hum one of the tunes I had made in my head. I liked to hum, listen to music, or whatever that kept my mind off of the reality of my life. The reality and cruelty of my situation.

 **[A/N: I know this song is pretty recent and modern song I guess, but it fits with the situation, if you know what I mean. Ask Me by Amy Grant]**

 _I see her as a little girl_

 _Hiding in her room_

 _She takes another bath_

 _And she sprays her mama's perfume_

 _To try to wipe away_

 _The scent he left behind_

 _But it haunts her mind_

 _You see, she's his little rag_

 _Nothing more than just a waif_

 _And he's mopping up his need_

 _She is tired and afraid_

 _Maybe she'll find a way_

 _Through these awful years_

 _To disappear_

 _Ask me if I think there's a God up in the Heaven_

 _Where did He go in the middle of her shame?_

 _Ask me if I think there's a God up in the Heaven_

 _I see no mercy, and no one down here's naming names_

 _Nobody's naming names_

 _Now, she's looking in the mirror_

 _At a lovely woman face_

 _No more frightened little girl_

 _Like she's gone without a trace_

 _Still she leaves the light_

 _Burning in the hall_

 _It's hard to sleep at all_

 _'Til she crawls up in her bed_

 _Acting quiet as a mouse_

 _Deep inside, she's listening_

 _For a creaking in the house_

 _But no one's left to harm her_

 _She's fin'ly safe and sound_

 _There's a peace she has found_

 _Ask her how she knows there's a God up in the Heaven_

 _Where did He go in the middle of her shame?_

 _Ask her how she knows there's a God up in the Heaven_

 _She said His mercy is bringing her life again_

 _She's coming to life again_

 _He's in the middle of her pain, in the middle of her shame_

 _Mercy brings life_

 _He's in the middle_

 _Mercy in the middle_

 _So ask me how I know_

 _Ask me how I know_

 _Ask me how I know there's a God up in the Heaven_

 _Where did He go in the middle of her shame?_

 _Ask me how I know there's a God up in the Heaven_

 _She said His mercy is bringing her life again_

 _Ask me how I know there's a God up in the Heaven_

 _Where did He go in the middle of her shame?_

 _Ask me how I know there's a God up in the Heaven_

She said His mercy is bringing her life again

I finish softly, the wind taking away the last words with it, some place where everything might be fine for someone else. How I wished I was someone else at times. No not most times, all the times.

And before I knew it, I feel asleep with the nice, soft, smooth wind flowing past my body, thoughts about Johnny and his weird named friend and how I could relate to him. But no, he was a nice looking kid, sweet and small. There was no way someone could relate to me, no way he could relate to me. But I didn't know that I was wrong. So wrong.

Just like I had been wrong that the nicest and innocent people don't get hurt. Just like I had lied to myself.

 **Johnny's Pov**

I sighed and closed my eyes as Ali sprinted out the door. She seemed like a nice person, but from what she did right now, I wasn't sure of what to think about her anymore. Then again, she had just saved us from a group of socs, but it was actually too bad she was a Soc herself, because if she wasn't, I felt like I could be good friends with her. But then again, what had Pony said once? Something about ignoring social classes? He had done just that when we had met up with those other Socs girls, Cherry and Marcia. And I think that he even bonded with Cherry . . .

I hoped I could be like Pony one day, Where I wouldn't be afraid to talk to someone about my feelings. My true feelings. The things I kept inside, that no one understood. Because no one could relate to me. Well, at least that's what I thought.

I shifted myself on the couch so that I could be more comfortable but then I was met by sudden and overwhelming pain in my side. I held my breath and slowly, ever so slowly and shifted my legs.

"Hey Johnny," a voice suddenly called out and I almost fell off the couch, I was so surprised.

"Darry?"

"Yeah Johnny, it's me," he walked over to where I was and leaned over. "So, Johnny. Heck, what on earth happened?"

I stayed silent and didn't answer right away. How was I about to tell Darry that Pony was almost drowned without him wanting to kill someone, or how I had almost stabbed someone to save Pony, or a how a SOC had come saved us from other Socs?

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out, instead some strange choking noise came out.

Darry gave me a weird glance. "And who was the girl? And why was Pony wet?"

Suddenly I heard some other movements to the left of me, but since I couldn't move my body, or head for that matter, without my ribs hurting, I could already tell it was Sodapop.

"I already changed Pony into some drier clothes and tucked him into bed." Soda whispered, and came over to my side where he crouched down in the floor. I knew he was giving Darry a worried look but I pretended that I didn't' notice it, so I closed my eyes.

"Hey Johnny," he said, but I didn't say anything. "Johnny you know you can tell us what happened right?"

I didn't say anything because I didn't trust my voice, and it hurt my ribs when I nodded, do I didn't acknowledge the fact that I had heard him.

"Johnny?" Soda pat me on my arm and it only made the forming lump in my throat grow even more. I tried to swallow it down, but I sniffled.

I didn't want to seem like a cry baby, but I really tried not to cry.

"Johnny what happened?" he asked again and this time I let out a small whimper before I cried.

"Johnny," Soda reassured me and kept patting my arm. "It's okay, it's going to be okay."

I almost yelled that it wasn't going to be okay, because Pony and I had almost been killed by a group of Socs, but I only whimpered more.

I let a lot of tears fall, but I barely let out any sounds. And before I knew it, I was falling asleep, with Darry and Soda hushing me and trying to comfort me as best they could. And the girl, Ali, was on my mind and how strange she seemed to be, and how I wanted to see her again. That was the last thing I remember before I surrendered to sleep.

And I don't think, I had ever slept better.

* * *

 **OKAY so I put a lot of emotions and thoughts and feelings into this chapter, so I hope all of you like it! I really tried and tried to put like personal thoughts (NO I AM NOT ABUSED) on what people in these types of situations would feel. SOrry if it was a tad short, but oh well. So anyways until next time! TOODLES!**


	3. Chapter 3

**HELLO to all my good readers! I bring you another wonderful chapter (well I hope so...) Anyways! ENjoy! I really tried and tried to make you think and ask questions to yourself in the chapter. MWAHAHAH!**

* * *

 **Ali's Pov**

I don't know that anyone else knows what's really going on. Everyone thinks -and by everyone I bet every Greaser thinks- that the Socs have the good life, or that everybody except _them_ has a good life. But they don't pay attention to the smallest details, the smallest mishaps. The smallest things that just don't add up to everything else. And yet, they toss it aside and pretend that their life is unfair, complaining or just feeling sorry for themselves, but what they don't know that everyone around them has their own stories. Their own stories that they will never share, and never tell. Not even to the person they trust the most.

Yeah, we have money and we go on vacations every year and we eat out almost every weekend at the best restaurants, but as they always say: Money can't buy happiness. And it's true. I'd give up all the money I have, in a second to be happy. Even if it's only for one second. Without having to fear going home or waking IT up, without angering IT just by walking close by. Or just by having my presence around them, which makes IT angry. It's not like IT will let anybody know. IT has hidden all it tracks, and covered up all it's traces down to the very last speck so that nothing can be traced back to them.

And I used to think my life was just like a princess' . . . and it was. I mean, my family was rich and I always got what I wanted, but when I grew up just a little more, I found out my life was completely different from what I thought - my little fantasy. I learned that by a young age, I was not a princess and no matter how much I wanted everything to go back to normal, no fairy godmother would be able to help me. I have stopped waiting for my prince charming to come and save me, and because of IT, I know my prince charming will never come.

That is why, I have to save myself.

Either way, I will end up in the same place, but the only difference is what I do to get there. I had dreams too, but when I tried to explain them to my parents, IT had taken me aside and tore them down the second that we were alone.

I never talked to my parents about anything after that. I had done everything myself to spare my feelings, hoping that one day it will get better.

When I had woken up in that tree, with the nice wind blowing against my body, I had almost forgotten that I hadn't gone home. I had almost forgotten all the worries about my life for that one second, as the sun peered over the leaves and landed gently on my face. And as the birds softly chirping in the nearby trees, I had even almost fallen asleep again. If it hadn't been for the fact that I almost fell and tipped over, my body filling with sudden fear of almost fallen, I almost forgot where I was. But as that familiar fear took over my body again, I remembered.

And I didn't want to go home because that was where IT was. But no matter what I tried to do to avoid IT, I always ended up getting an even worse punishment that what I would have usually gotten.

Even as I dragged myself up the steps trying not to wake up my hangover brother, or my hard working mother, biting back a cry of pain that was threatening to escape my mouth from the the pain throbbing on my face, I felt scared. And lost. And all alone.

I passed by my brother's room and stepped on all the spots where the floor wouldn't creak - I knew them even with my eyes closed, because almost every night I would have to painstakingly walk these steps to avoid any suspicion. To avoid anyone waking up and asking why I was awake at two in the morning, limping with a bruise that may or may not be visible on my body. That was another reason why I didn't wear night gowns anymore, because then the bruises would be more obvious, and I wouldn't be able to explain how I'd gotten them. I wouldn't want to, and it was not like they would believe me. IT had told me to stop trying, because no one would believe me, and IT was right. No one did.

And even now, I stared at myself in my mirror, trying to see what makeup I could wear to cover up my bruise, I still had that small sliver of hope that I would be able to save myself before IT could tear down everything I had left.

It wasn't that bad, I mean, compared to what it had been hours ago, it wasn't that bad. The bruise, I mean. I had learned that to make bruises to go away and what you need is: hot boiling water and a spoon. No would would ask why you were boiling hot water, because they would assume you were making tea. And the same for the spoon.

 **(A/N: PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME- I HEARD FROM A FRIEND THAT SHE PUT HOT WATER ON THE SPOON AND PUT THE SPOON ON HER BRUISES TO MAKE THEM GO AWAY BUT I DON'T KNOW….)**

It hurt, but by the end, the bruises always seemed to fade away and no one seemed to notice them if I put on a little makeup on.

I had bags under my eyes, and I didn't know why. No wait, I did. It was because I hadn't been getting much sleep these days. IT was always home, and I always stayed up late to make sure IT wouldn't catch me off guard. Unfortunately I didn't think IT would be awake so early in the morning, and so I had gotten a bruise. And here I was now, thinking if I should just really run away. I could take my money and leave . . .

I shook my head and stared in the mirror. _No, I couldn't leave, not now. Not ever_ , I thought sadly. Mom would break, and IT would then look for something else to hit. And I knew it would be mom, and Bob . . . Bob was an asshole of a brother, but I knew that he would also be upset. And I also knew that he would think that I was taken by a Greaser, and I didn't want to endanger any lives -seeing those two boys almost get killed was enough- so I knew I would only cause trouble.

I took a quick shower trying to clear my head of those useless thoughts about how better my life would be if I just ran away. If I just went someplace where no one was beaten for their social and economic status. Where people didn't' jump people for fun, and family loved each other.

I closed my eyes and stopped the warm water that had been dripping on my body, standing in the cold enclosed space for a while before deciding that I had just wasted even more time, and got out.

I was drying my hair as best as I could with a towel and slipped on a light pink skirt, with white stockings. I plucked my eyebrows and brushed my hair, staring at my cheek that was still slightly purple. You had to get real close if you wanted to see it, and then you would have to look for it. But no one would be looking for a bruise on a rich Soc girl, so no one would know.

I would be meeting Cherry - one of my friends for lunch, and I needed to get ready. My brother had gone out with his friends _again_ , IT had gone to work and my mother was at a meeting for her job. That meant I was all alone.

I took a quick glance around my room and saw that it was messy. But since the clock was already at 11:30, and Cherry would be meeting me at my house at 12:00, I wasn't going to clean my room. Instead I picked out a shirt that wasn't as smelly as the rest on the floor, put on perfume and tied my hair up in a ponytail. I hoped the perfume masked the smell, _if_ I smelled.

I went downstairs and made breakfast, pouring cereal in my bowl and getting some milk out of the refrigerator. **(A/N: OMG I have no idea if I spelled this right, but spelling check doesn't have it underlined sooooo...)**

I ate slowly and then stared at the cereal, it was . . . bland looking. I had barely put four spoons in my mouth before I decided to dump it all in the trash. I usually got full very easily and I wanted to eat with my friend, and the cereal was looking real boring and it made me feel sick. And I didn't want to get sick, so I didn't eat. I ran to my room and grabbed some random papers that were littered on the floor, they were labeled as trash and threw them into the kitchen's trash, so that if my mother or brother came home or even IT, and if they peered at the trash, they wouldn't be able to see what I had thrown out. Not that they cared, but I would feel guilty if I was confronted. I didn't usually waste food.

Then all of a sudden as I stared at the trash and looked how disgusting the soggy cereal looked, I heard a loud beep, and I jumped, my body twisting roughly. I looked back up at the clock, it was 11:58. Had I been day dreaming for that long? I shook my head and blinked. I didn't usually . . . zone out like that. And now that I actually thought about it . . . it'd been happening more and more these past few days . . .

And then another annoying beep rang through the silent neighborhood and I let out an irritated sigh. Cherry could get real annoying at times, she knew loud noises bothered me a lot, and she always did it to bother me. And as I opened the door to my house, I saw my brother's blue mustang. For a second I got confused and thought my brother had returned, but then I saw a flash of bright red hair. Cherry sat back up, saw me and waved. It seemed like she was tying and re-adjusting her shoes. I bet she was wearing heels again.

"HEYA SLOW POKE WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" she yelled and I shrunk back, looking around to see if anyone else was outside.

After seeing that no one was, I walked a little bit faster and got in the front seat. "Be quiet Cherry, I was only 1 minute early."

She rolled her eyes. "Come one, come on, hurry up, we're going to be late-close the door already!"

"I'm already in the car. Geez!" I threw my hands up in the air.

She didn't even let me put on the seat belt when she put the car in reverse and started to drive backwards.

I gripped onto the handle and closed my eyes. "Cherry stop the car now, please. Cherry it isn't funny. Stop"

"And why would I want to do that?" she asked loudly and turned the car, this time so it went forwards. I let out a sigh of relief. "That would be no fun!" she said and smiled brightly.

I stared at her. "This is why I never get in a car with you," I said. "And why do you have my brother's car? I thought he was going out with his friends."

She smiled smugly again, "He let me borrow it, to buy some clothes."

I rolled my eyes again. It didn't' bother me that my best friend was dating my brother, but it could get annoying at times. "Yeah, yeah. So where are we going?"

"I don't know," she said and we stopped at a light, turning to me. "I was thinking maybe we could go and see one of those hot guys at the DX."

"My brother is your boyfriend."

"And? I'm just going to drop in and say hi, no big deal. The girls said that they're getting hotter these days. And besides, it's not like I'm cheating on him."

"Isn't the DX in the Greaser's side?" I added and stared at a tree.

"Yeah, but that doesn't really matter. I mean we're only going to drop in for a few minutes, and besides. It's only the afternoon, there won't be many people there. They'll all be eating."

"Exactly, so that means those 'hot guys' will be eating lunch and we won't be able to see them."

"Oh stop being so negative. Some of the other girls are going to be there today too. I think Marcia told me that she was going to stop by too."

I groaned. "I just want to eat. Not visit a couple of hot guys sweating."

"Come one! It's a couple of hot guys, no shirts on. And on top of all that, they're flirting!"

"That makes it even more disturbing."

I told her not to, but she never listens, so in the end, we were headed towards the DX. Where did I go wrong? I just wanted to eat with my friend in a nice restaurant, maybe I should just have eaten something else in the morning.

She and I bonded because we both didn't like the idea of social boundaries, but that was where the similarities ended. She and I were opposites. She was a reckless, I wasn't. She was pretty, I wasn't. She was everything a guy ever wanted, and I wasn't.

But I didn't let that bring me down, it never bothered me.

"Cherry, I'm not going to get out of the car," I said, crossed my arms and stared at the store that seemed to be empty. Except for the fact that there were about ten other girls inside flirting with some guys I couldn't see. And more girls outside talking and giggling and standing up and peeking inside the store.

"Calm down, I'm just going to fill Bob's car up. AND THEN go inside."

"I'm not going inside."

"Um, yes you are."

"No thanks." I insisted, but she didn't take no for an answer. Instead she smiled evilly at me, and grabbed my arm. She ignored me as I tried to pry my arm from her hand, it might not seem like it, but even though Cherry hates violence, she is a strong girl.

The next thing I know, I'm being crushed by a hoard of other girls who are giggling and squeaking right into my ears. I loose Cherry in the crowd and if you don't think it's scary when I group of girls are crushing you trying to get to a guy, it isn't just scary. IT'S TERRIFYING. I almost suffocated and the only thing I wanted to do, was eat.

Oh boy, how I spend my weekends.

I was finally able to crawl away and break free, to where I ended up in the back of the store. Then as I was just about to head my way to escape and eat some food, the girls all started to head out the door, because apparently the boy or group of boys they were flirting with, left. And then I was the only one in the store. It had gone from absolute chaos to complete silence in less than a minute.

I bet most of the girls had gotten jealous over one another. Thank god, I'm not interested in any boys currently. Cherry and my other friends would always tease me that I had no boyfriend, but I thought boyfriends were just a waste of potential. I mean, you couldn't really do anything without having to ask them. They got jealous if you spoke to another guy. And if the broke up with you, (and if you really were in love) you would get depressed and it would mess with your grades and with your daily life.

For me, it was easier not having anyone. I would always hear my friends complain and cry over their boyfriends. It was, to put it frankly, annoying.

I looked around the store to see if anyone was around. The store was small, and a little unclean. No just kidding, it was very unclean, the floors were dirty and the shelves were a little bit dusty. I hoped I didn't get my allergies early this year . . . When I looked outside, I saw that my brother's blue mustang was nowhere in sight. _Great, I'm in greaser territory all alone, and I'm hungry,_ I thought annoyed. And since I was hungry, I went over to the shelves were they sold treats. Like chips and gum and whatever you needed. As I was looking and comparing the huge amount calories in two bags, I heard talking from the front of the store. I immediately stopped making noise, and listened carefully.

"Are they all gone?" a voice whispered loudly.

"Of course they're all gone, what are ya blind?" another one said, and I heard a smack.

"Hey, don't' you go on hitting people. Are you okay Two?"

"I do what I want, when I want."

"Yeah sure," another voice said. Except it sounded a bit playful compared to the other voice. The other voice sounded cold and hard. Like IT's voice

I was hungry, but I wasn't good with people. And by the looks of it, it sounded like there was about five people, or boys, or young men. Greasers to put it exactly, because no Soc would deliberately come here and laugh.

I didn't want to go talk to them. But the door was in the front, and that was where they were . . . I let out a soft sigh. _Should I go and buy something since I'm going to go in the front anyways? Or should I just, like, run out?_ I thought and stared at the one bag of chips that lay in my hand. Oh man, I loved to make myself nervous over everything. Whether it be going to school, or asking somebody for a pencil, or asking the cashier where the women's section was. I always got nervous over everything. The voices started to get louder and it sounded like they were shoving each other. I decided to get it over with because I didn't want to accidentally get hit by a group of greaser boys.

I was met by a group of six boys. Three of them looking familiar, and then it clicked. The dark skinned one was Johnny, the handsome one was Ponyboy's brother and the auburn haired boy was Ponyboy. But the others . . . they were all just staring at me. A blond haired one with icy hard blue eyes -he looked dangerous, a red haired one with playful gray eyes - he looked goofy. And a black haired who just looked plain and tuff looking. They were staring daggers at me, well only the blond one was. The others were just checking me out. . I had never felt so uncomfortable. I didn't look at them, and instead pulled out my wallet and pulled out two quarters.

Ponyboy was the first one who spoke.

"Hey, are you the girl from yesterday? Ali was it?"

The redhead snickered. "Hey is this Pony's girlfriend?" he asked as he nudged the handsome one and looked at Ponyboy. "Pony I didn't know you got yourself a broad."

Ponyboy blushed a little and shook his head no. "Shut up Two-Bit. She's just someone I met yesterday with Johnny. She's not my girlfriend"

This Two-Bit character laughed loudly and the handsome one smiled. The dark haired one nudge the handsome one. "Sorry about Two-Bit, he's a wild one."

Johnny glanced at Pony, and then at the blond one. Johnny had a purple and blue bruise on his face, that I notice then, when he stepped into the light. It reminded me of my own. Oh no, I hoped they weren't staring at me because they saw it . . . Cherry didn't' say anything and she was right next to me, so that meant I was okay . . . right?

I nodded to show that I had listened, praying that they would just ring me up already. I wanted to go home, not talk to a group of scary and weird looking guys. The black haired guy caught my eye, and he grinned. _I want to go home right now. NOW NOW NOW NOW._ Ponyboy, Johnny and Ponyboy's brother were okay. But the others were just making me nervous.

And when I didn't speak, the blond one smirked and slung an arm over me. "So what's a Socy broad doing here all by herself?" He said and I felt myself freeze up. He reminded me of IT. I didn't answer and just stepped aside slowly, his arm falling.

"Oh Dally, I think you just got stood up." Two-Bit howled in laughter, Pony and Johnny gave each other serious side glances. But, Oh this greaser, _Dally_ knit his eyebrows together.

"Hey, am I not good enough for you broad?" he growled.

I didn't answer and he got closer, he looked angry. Only then did it hit me that this was _the famed_ Dallas Winston. The towheaded greaser that could beat up anybody. Drop them from one punch. It only scared me even more. I took a deep breath and took a step back. I was so close to the door, just one more step . . .

Steve and the handsome one, Soda I think his name was, or was that his nickname? Well anyways, they were looked super uncomfortable and bolted as soon as another customer went to the back. Another Soc had need their car fixed. And I was stuck here. Man, I thought they'd at least help me. They had totally forgot to ring up my bag of chips too. I was hungry, but I wanted to leave . . . but the bag of chips . . . Arghhhh! This was such a dilemma! _What to choose, what to do,_ I thought.

Dally went behind the counter and looked at me. "Hey, I was talking to ya. Am I not good enough?"

I swallowed. Oh man, he was a real jerk. Did he not get the fact that I didn't want to talk to him? I didn't know what to say. How could I politely tell him that I wanted to throw a brick at his face? I didn't want to anger him even more.

"Dally leave her alone," Two-Bit said playfully and smiled at me. I didn't say anything. Although I was grateful. But as I was beginning to think not all greasers were mean he - "This broad is mine."

My mouth dropped.

"Hey Socy, I'm not a photographer, but I can picture me and you together. "

Then Ponyboy burst into laughter, Johnny looked embarrassed for me, and I felt my face flush. How stupid and ignorant could one get? Any other boy would have stood up for me and helped me get out of this uncomfortable situation.

I looked down at the chips that lay on the counter. All of a sudden, they weren't worth the trouble. I looked over at the door, it was _right_ there.

Two-Bit kept making these cheesy remarks at me. And Dallas Winston whistled and said some nasty things. But I still couldn't move. _The chips, the chips, the chipppppsssss. Why did Cherry leave?_

"Did you sit in a pile of sugar? Cause you have a pretty sweet ass."

That was the last one, I stared in awe for a full second before my brain could catch up with what this. . . this . . . this . . . _moron!_ had said. I felt my face go from slightly pink to a hot fuming and burning red. I started the redhead dead in the eye and slapped his face. Then I heard a collective amount of gasps. I had never felt to humiliated in my life. Never, not even when I had fallen down the stairs at school in front of everyone.

I ran out and didn't look back. I never wanted to go back. Maybe I had been wrong when I said that not all Greasers were good and respectable. Well, Johnny and Ponyboy and Sodapop, seemed alright. But I didn't like the people they hung out with. They were just too good for that.

I stomped off and was surprised when I realized that I was pretty close to the park I was yesterday. Then all of a sudden I ran. I ran and ran and ran, until I saw the tree. It was in the same place as before, of course it would still be there. Only it was beautiful. I wasn't hungry anymore and I could only stare at God's gift. Even though the sun was high above the sky, and it was a little hot, everything was nice. I hadn't really payed any attention in the morning when I had bolted home. And it was too dark to see it in the night.

This tree, made me happy for some reason. It was strong and tall and free.

I climbed up into the tree and stayed there for a couple of minutes and closed my eyes.

I heard a _snap!_ \- below me and my eyes snapped open. The sun had gone down, it looked like it was around 4 . . . when had I fallen asleep? I looked around wildly, I was still in the tree. Cherry must be panicking and looking for me everywhere! I jumped down without looking. Do you know how dumb that is? And how dangerous that is? Well I did it anyways - WOW! I know. I'm an a risk taker. Well anyways, I jumped down and landed on something.

It let out a huge grunt and I screamed instinctively. It wasn't loud, but it was more like squeak. The thing underneath me _moved._ I sprang up and tried to run, because I thought it was a dog I had landed on. But of course since fate hates me, I tripped. I was absolutely scared of dogs because when I was younger a huge one had attacked me. I still had a scar on my leg, not that anyone knew about it because I always wore stockings.

The "dog" spoke, and curse silently. Then I realized that I had not landed on a dog, but since it was dark skinned I had assumed it was a dog. _I need glasses,_ I thought.

"Ali? Is that you? What were you doing up in a tree? What are you doing here?"

I started and stared. This was Johnny. Johnny. Why and what was he doing here too?

"Oh my gosh, Johnny! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I just jumped without thinking!"

We were sitting underneath the tree, watching the sun go down slowly. We talked and talked. About how we like reading, even though Johnny couldn't' really read. And how we liked nature and other things. And where we would like to live when we grew up. It was nice. Talking to someone, even though I couldn't' really talk about the truth.

"I'm sorry about my friends. I mean, how they treated you. Dally can be mean and Two-Bit can just be pretty dumb." Johnny said and smiled.

I felt my stomach seize up again. _I should really eat, I wonder what time is it . . ._ I thought. _I should take some pain medications. My stomach has been acting up since yesterday._

"It's okay. I mean I was a little rude myself. I hadn't meant to slap the red headed boy, Two-Bit. But I just acting out of my own instinct." I said and looked at him. That bruise was rather nasty. I wonder how he had gotten it. It wasn't there yesterday . . . was it? It had been late . . .

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just hanging out, and looking at . . . nature." I replied. "What were _you_ doing here?"

". . . I usually stay here sometimes. To sleep."

"Why?"

He looked sad all of a sudden. "My life at home isn't exactly the best."

I laughed realizing that Johnny and I were, and might be similar. "I think we can be good friends."

"Why? You're a soc and I'm a greaser."

"So? That isn't the main reason though"

"Then why?" he asked, clearly confused.

I panicked. It was too late to turn back now. Uh, what should I say? Should I say the truth? Well it wouldn't' hurt if I said a bit of the truth. It would hurt less, because they pain I had to hold in, would be out. And I took the first step to trusting somebody.

I looked at him in the eye. "My life at home isn't the best either."

He nodded, as if he understood. But he wouldn't understand. His parent's wouldn't hurt him. No way, he was too sweet and too nice for anything. That bruise was from that night.

But boy, had I never been that wrong.

* * *

 **WELL HELLO PEEPS I hoped that ending didn't suck. HAHAh, okay, please review! I would like to hear what I could fix, or what I could add (for future chapters too!) Well anyways, Toodles and until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello my dear readers! I bring you another chapter! Okay, I'm writing this on a Saturday, and I think I'll have it posted on Sunday? Well anyways, I'm watching Pan as I write this. I'm 420 blazing this story in one day. (It usually literally takes me a week to write this but i didn't have time. I procrastinated) Well anyways! ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Ali's Pov**

Once I had said those words to Johnny, I left and he didn't follow me. He didn't even call out to me. I guess that he might've understood that I needed time to think about everything, and I was glad too. Because if he had followed me and asked me why I had said those words that sounded like they had a deeper meaning -and they did- I wouldn't have known the answer.

I just had to say it. Even though I was bearing a huge load weight on my shoulders, even one pebble falling off made it lighter for me. And even though he, and anyone else might not have understood the meaning of what I was trying to say, it felt good. Because somehow I had spoken and said something that I had never meant to say, and that felt good. I felt powerful even though no one understood what it meant.

I don't know how long I had been wondering around town trying to gather my senses, trying to avoid groups of Greasers, and trying to decide whether to go home or not. But after it began to get dark, and after the wind started to pick up and when it started to smell like it was going to rain soon, I knew my answer. There was no avoiding it, and anyways, in the end; I could never really escape.

I wished for a day where I would finally be free and live my own life. I would have loved to live far away from everyone else, in a nice ranch. Somewhere where I could be myself and do what I want.

As I was thinking how much fun it would have been to be born as someone else's child I noticed that the sky had darkened so dramatically. I knew that this was not going to be a good night.

Before I knew it I was there. In right front of my house, staring at the parking space where only one car sat in. We had four cars in the family. A light pink one in the garage that was for me for when I was allowed to -because IT wouldn't let me drive the car. We had a blue one and a black one. But this the car I was seeing, was a deep blue, professional looking car. And I only knew one person in the world with a car like that. Someone I knew, and someone I didn't like. Someone I hated with my whole heart. Someone who also hated me. Someone who wished I was gone. Someone who I wished was gone.

But not all wishes can come true right?

Without thinking I ran, because I thought that I would finally be able to control my fate. I thought that be me running, I would be able to leave everything behind and forget everything that had happened to me. As I looked up at the falling sun hidden behind a huge gray cloud, it hit me. No matter where I went, where I hid, where I stayed; everything would -like the memories- would still follow me.

I didn't want to run anymore. I knew running was not a sign of weakness, but how many times had I heard it was? I just wanted to go home and not be afraid for once. I wanted everything to go back to normal.

When would everything go back to normal? I hoped it was soon, because I was getting tired and weaker faster than ever before. And I'm wasn't sure if I could keep up with all of it.

I stopped a block away from my house and stared at the green little caterpillar crawling in the sidewalk, when it was suddenly grabbed and taken away by a red robin. It was like God was giving me a sign, but it didn't help me. I didn't get it. It hurt to see that a innocent caterpillar was taken. Almost reminded me of me.

Then, as I watched the red bird fly farther away, I decided that I was too tired to even try anymore. I was too hungry to run. I was too tired to do anything. So I spun around and dragged my legs back to my house, forcing my heart and mind to calm down, as I neared the back door of my house.

There was no way, I was going to go through the front. Not unless I wanted a death wish, which I bet I was going to get anyways.

I was super tired. I was super late. And I was super scared.

Standing in front of the backdoor made me realize that I was going to get beaten so badly, I wouldn't want to come out of my room or do anything like go to school for a week. I would be hurting all over, barely able to get my body off the floor. But staying at home wasn't an option. Even if I was hit, I would still have to go to school because if I stayed at home for a whole week Cherry would get suspicious, my mom would get suspicious. EVERYONE would get suspicious.

I would only have to suck it up, put on make up, act like everything was fine and go to school, praying that no one noticed the way I walked and how my hair was constantly in my face, or how it was a bajillion degrees out, and I was wearing long sleeves or how I was wearing too much makeup.

I took a deep breath and prayed to the Lord above, to give me courage, to keep me safe and keep me alive for another day to see that my life was still worth living.

I took a breath in, and opened the door.

IT was in the kitchen. I had forgotten that today was a Thursday. The day where my my mom and my brother had gone out for "family bonding" because they didn't bond as much, and IT and I had to do the same. It was both of their ideas. Once my mom had brought it up, IT had nodded and agreed to it 100%. But where were both of their cars? They were both gone, so that meant that they thought it was a dumb idea, because they never really bonded, and decided to do their own stuff.

And I was here. Alone. With IT. I took a step back, but the floorboards creaked and I wanted to run out, like a bat out of hell. But once that loud creak sound reached my ears from beneath me, I froze.

IT heard the noise from behind itself and stood up from the couch in the living room. "Where on earth have you been?" IT said.

I opened my mouth to speak, but as IT took one step forward in my direction looking pissed as hell, my words were immediately caught in my throat. Complete fear overcame my whole body, and I couldn't move. I just stood there and stare at IT trying to figure out a way to escape if this didn't end the way I wanted to. So, I coughed and tried to respond again, because If I didn't IT would get even more angry. But I couldn't make a sound, I was so scared. I glanced right by him and noticed that the door to the bathroom was cracked open a bit. That meant that if I needed to, I could run in there.

"Don't let me ask you again." IT hissed in a low voice. "Where. Have. You. Been?"

Again I didn't say anything, because my explanation was lodged in my throat. I wanted to tell IT, that I had gone out with Cherry and we had gone and watched a movie -obviously a lie- eaten at a restaurant and headed to her house. That was my excuse, but I couldn't get it out.

He stomped to me and slapped me in the face so hard, my eyes tears up, from the pain and surprise. I didn't know why I was surprised though, I knew that is was going to happen. Maybe I was surprised because I always made myself believe that one day, IT wouldn't hit me and just stop, but it never did.

 **(A/N: I'm literally almost in tears, I'm listening to Skinny Love by Birdy while typing this, and it's making me sad)**

"Are you not going to talk today?" IT hissed and I stayed quiet. "Well then, it makes the job easier."

He grabbed me by my ponytail and dragged me to the bottom of the stairs. I knew I should have cut my hair, but my mom loved my hair and I could make myself go to the Hair Stylist and ask them to cut it. Because if I did then my mom would notice that something was horribly wrong, and I didn't want her to find out what was going on. If she found out, she would be so depressed that she hadn't done anything to stop it, but I had to take every hit because I loved my mom. Because if I didn't take the hits, she would, and she was already too old for that.

She deserved to believe that someone loved her, even if it meant keeping it a secret and pretending that everything was fine even when it wasn't. It was because I love my mom to death, and I feared that if I tried to tell her the truth she wouldn't believe me.

That was what I feared more than being beaten. It was my mom being proud of me that kept me going, otherwise I would have gone a long time ago.

I tried to ignore the pain that erupted in my ribs. I tried to ignore that pain that engulfed me everywhere. I tried to ignore that pain that was part of my everyday life, but everyday it was getting harder to. I knew I was fading fast and as my consciousness started to fade, as IT hit me hard across the face IT, I knew that I would have to leave soon.

Because if I didn't, I would leave and go to a better place. And sometimes that better place sounded better than here.

Anywhere was better than here.

I woke up in the bathroom of my room aching all over, trying not to cry out loud. Trying not to break down completely in my room all alone when if you ever broke down, you were supposed to be held by someone. But no one was here for me, so I couldn't break down now. No, I held the tears in, painstakingly cleaned myself and wiped my ready-to-fall tears away.

I dragged myself out of the bathroom and hid underneath my bed. I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythm of my heart in my ears. Listening to my heart beat. As long as my heartbeat I was still alive, but I didn't feel that way. I had stopped feeling that way for a long time. So what was really keeping me together? Was it really my mom? Was it really what I thought it was?

I opened my burning eyes and started staring up at the fading light coming through my window, and I quietly began to sing.

 **(A/N: "Echo" by Jason Walker NOT MY SONG)**

 _Hello, hello_

 _Anybody out there? Cause I don't hear a sound_

 _Alone, alone_

 _I don't really know where the world is but I miss it now_

 _I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_

 _Like a fool at the top of my lungs_

 _Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_

 _But it's never enough_

 _Cause my echo, echo_

 _Is the only voice coming back_

 _Shadow, shadow_

 _Is the only friend that I have_

 _Listen, listen_

 _I would take a whisper if that's all you had to give_

 _But it isn't, is it?_

 _You could come and save me and try to chase the crazy right out of my head_

 _I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_

 _Like a fool at the top of my lungs_

 _Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_

 _But it's never enough_

 _Cause my echo, echo_

 _Is the only voice coming back_

 _Shadow, shadow_

 _Is the only friend that I have_

 _I don't wanna be an island_

 _I just wanna feel alive and_

 _Get to see your face again_

 _I don't wanna be an island_

 _I just wanna feel alive and_

 _Get to see your face again_

 _But 'til then_

 _Just my echo, my shadow_

 _You're my only friend and..._

 _I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_

 _Like a fool at the top of my lungs_

 _Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_

 _But it's never enough_

 _Cause my echo, echo_

 _Oh my shadow, shadow_

 _Hello, hello_

 _Anybody out there?_

And with that, I fell asleep, thinking that I was going to have to take tons of pain killers tomorrow.

 **Johnny's Pov**

I knew that Ali Sheldon went to my school, but that Monday, I didn't see her. I didn't see her for almost two days before she appeared at school smiling, and being all bubbly, acting like everything was fine, and all that. But I didn't believe any of that for a second. I didn't see her smiling and I didn't see her happy. Instead I saw sad and almost broken eyes, and a limping little girl. I knew, because she reminded me of myself when I was beaten.

Most people are blind.

They only see the things they want to.

They only want to believe the things they want to.

They don't see what's really going on.

They don't want to believe what's really going on.

It just makes me sad to think that someone at Ali's house might be abusing her just like at my house. I was always asking God, for me to meet someone who was like me, but seeing it just made me sad. I didn't want to see other people being abuse. Other people whose parents don't care about them. And if it meant everyone being freed from their abusive parents while I was still abused, then so be it. That would be my only wish. For everyone in my situation to be freed and know that they are loved by someone.

I was heading to the DX to find Ponyboy because I had skipped the only period we had together including lunch because I needed time to think about Ali.

That conversation we had had the other day was engraved in my mind. She had said some words that had a deeper meaning. She had said, "My life at home isn't the best either." And now no doubt about it, when I had seen her, the actions, her words, her slow movements, made me realize that I wasn't the only one.

Oh, how I wished I was the only one now.

 **Ali's Pov**

"I didn't know you had a car Ali." he snickered.

I didn't make any facial movements. "I don't." I said calmly.

The other guy snickered. "Then what's a little spoiled brat doing here huh? You got some business?"

No, I didn't have no business. I just wanted to talk to someone. It was Johnny, I wanted to talk to. I didn't know where he lived, or what school he went -though he probably went to my school- but I didn't even know his last name. Therefore I wouldn't' be able to find him. There might've been tons of Johnny's in my school. I didn't say anything to the three guys and I just stared.

These were Bob's friends, and I hated them. They were a bad influence to him. Bob was such a nice - I mean fairly okay- brother and he didn't deserve this type of trash.

"Oh hey," one of them squinted. "I think I remember you. You're that girl from that night!"

He nudged his friends in the ribs. "It _is_ her. The one who got in the way of us beating the crap out of some greasers."

It was true and I did remember them too. But I wasn't going to let them know that. They had never really seen me before, and they didn't know I was Bob's little sister.

I gulped silently realizing that they didn't know. It didn't matter if it a greaser girl or a socy girl, because a broad was a broad. To them, girls were useless and only used for their pleasures. That's why I didn't trust boys. Especially the guys from my own kind. The Social boys were ruthless and disgusting.

I glanced around the DX shop, no greaser boys were in sight. They might have been in the back. Where were they when I needed them?

One of the boys took a step towards me and I instinctively backed up. "Hey, look at this broad, she looks scared." He laughed.

This was why I hated this town.

"Hey little girl, are you scared? Do you want someone to protect you?"

I didn't say anything, and carefully took a step back trying to avoid the pain throbbing in my legs. I took a look at the door, it was too far away to make a run for it. I would have been able to run even if I wanted to. So, I just stayed and prayed that I wasn't going to be kidnapped.

They started to get closer and I was thinking that this week couldn't have gone any worse, when all of a sudden a small voice spoke up.

"Leave her alone," it said and the boys all turned around

 **JOHNNY** was a shrimp compared to them, but I was too. I thought it was brave that Johnny had had the guts to even talk to them. If only I had the guts to even talk to IT too.

One guy narrowed his eyes. "What did you just say grease?" He spat out.

Johnny shrunk back and whispered, "Leave her alone."

All of them laughed loudly. "Can you believe this guy?"

"It almost seems like this little grease wants to get beat up."

"Is this an invitation? You want to-"

Then suddenly there was this new voice. I recognized it. It was deep, cold and hard.

I turned around, and what do you know? My day did get worse. It was Dallas Winston and the tall red-headed goofy/crazy guy who had insulted me.

Dallas Winston looked at down at his nails and pulled out a blade. The Socs stopped laughing. "So ya guys gonna beat it? Or shall I beat you?"

One of the Socs smiled. "Hey man, we don't want any trouble. We were just talking-"

"Yeah, and I'm the holy Jesus up in the heavens," he scoffed and the red headed guy grinned. "Now scram before I beat yer heads in." He said in such a scary and menacing voice, I flinched. Johnny looked scared too, but he wasn't scared at Dallas.

Dallas Winston and - I remembered his name, Two-Bit, I believe it was- walked over to Johnny.

"Hey Johnnycake, how ya doing? Hope your old man is treating you fine," Dally said and clapped his hand over Johnny's shoulder. The redhead turned to me, and grinned so big, I took a step back. I didn't trust these guys.

Dallas Winston, all of a sudden, looked up from Johnny to me. His glare was deadly and ice cold, it reminded me of IT's look and I froze up.

I couldn't move, and he didn't stop staring at me. I knew it was a mistake to come back here. Why don't I ever listen to my gut feeling?

Dallas snarled. "Hey ya broad, whatcha think yer doing here? Was one of those low lives your boyfriend?"

I didn't answer and took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. Willing all of my little power in my legs to just walk right out of there.

There was no way, I was going back.

And this time I was 100% sure.

Johnny belonged with his kind, and I belonged to mine.

* * *

 **I DID IT. I UPDATE MY OTHER STORY TOO IN A SPAN OF ONE DAY. ABOUT 10 PAGES FOR BOTH STORIES. I. DID. IT.**

 **I AM GOD! Bwahahaha, considering that I went out to lunch with my family and did other things and barely wrote, I actually managed to finish both new chapters for both of my stories in one day. I am LEgeND. TOODLES! and Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**HELLO My good readers! I bring good news! I have successfully advanced to the next level in my MMA class! So since I don't have to worry about practicing as much, I have made myself write more? But I'm still procrastinating and I'm currently writing this on a Thursday, when I was supposedly supposed to start it on a Monday. But since I don't have school Friday 5/25 and Monday (whatever day that is) I guess I'll write more? JK IT'S SUNDAY NOW AND I PANICKING.**

* * *

 **Ali's P.o.v**

I tried not to let my feelings get the best of me, and since I had never really expressed them, I almost did. But I didn't want Cherry to think something was wrong with me. I was already acting suspicious to begin with. I had forgotten to cover up a bruise on my arm and when she had seen it, she had launched about a thousand questions on how I got it. I had told Cherry I had hit my arm along the railing of our stairs. I knew she didn't believe me with the squint of her eyes as she inspected it, but I guess she let it slide because she didn't ask any questions. I didn't even bother to cover it with makeup because it would be weird and strange and trippy and even more things, if I had a bruise one day, and it be gone the next.

And now, I was trying my best not to just scream at her because she always insisted. She never listened to what I had to say, and it was starting to get a little bit annoying. Annoying wasn't even the word I could use, because she was more than that. She was . . . a nuisance. I could not simply understand how my brother could stand her. But hey, he was a nuisance too, so I guess the people with the same tastes could bond even with the same trait.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, concentrating and imagining the place where I wanted to live one day, and doing that could sometimes relax me.

It helped me calm down too in this situation, I guess.

"No. I already told you, I'm not going back there," I said with the most serious voice, hoping that she would get a hint. Please, please understand. I thought. Get it through your thick skull and use that mind of yours and get it.

Cherry stared at me and then looked down at the small charm bracelet on her arm. "What's wrong? What happened? Why don't you want to go back?" she whispered with a worried tone in her voice. "I'm sorry I left you there. It was by accident. I didn't mean to. You know I didn't mean to. Right? You don't hate me right?"

Great. She thought I was mad at her. She thought didn't want to hang out with her because of that little mishap. I was still a little angered and annoyed that she had completely forgotten about me, but that wasn't the reason why. But I guess that it was okay that she thought that because, then I wouldn't have to explain the real reason. What had happened. Dallas scared me so much.

It was because of them. The greasers were weird people. And some could even be mean. Like Dallas Winston. He was rude and the meanest person I had ever met.

Cherry would never understand, she was too sweet and too carefree and nice to understand what was happening with her friend right under her nose. I didn't want to give her the burden or guilt of any sort. I didn't want to make her feel that she had nothing all this time while I had suffered, not uttering a word, because I was so scared to talk, even to my best friend.

"I don't like that Dallas Winston," I said, pausing to see if she knew or recognized his name and she smirked "He scares me."

Cherry's smirk grew into a small smile. "I think he's cool and tuff. He's a real bad boy, and not to mention that Ponyboy? Man, he's a real looker too, almost like his brother."

I mentally sighed and fought the urge to yell at her, that she already had a boyfriend. I didn't care if she broke up with my brother because he could be a real douche sometimes.

"Please? This is the last time. I swear. I only need to talk to Ponyboy because of this history project. We have history together."

"Then why don't you go by yourself? I don't want to talk about any history projects on my weekend. I already finished all of my homework."

She gave a weak laugh. "Yeah, well anyone else would kill me if I said I wanted to go to the greaser side of town all by myself to hang out with this boy that everyone disapproves about just because of his social class." I raised my eyebrows, clearly impressed by her knowledge and ability to cleverly place the words in her sentence. Nah, I was just impressed that she was able to actually make it sound like a full sentence for once. I tried not to laugh as she added, "And I don't want to get jumped."

I swallowed the loud laugh in the back of my throat, because if I laughed, she might think it would be okay to go and I didn't want that. "Um, no. I don't really want it, not this time. I just can't. I also need to be home in like thirty minutes." I said blankly, looking down at my watch. I hoped she noticed the little sass I was trying to give off.

Cherry smiled on ahead and gripped the steering wheel, fingers tapping anxiously. "Well then, we'll have to make a quick stop right before you go home."

This time I actually smacked myself in the face. I groaned. "Jesus Christ Cherry, what am I going to do with you?"

I was hoping for Steve or even Two-Bit to appear, but when I saw that Dallas Winston smoking inside the store, leaning on the counter as if he owned the whole place, I wanted to run. He scared me a whole lot. The others seemed okay, but that was as far as I went. I wasn't about to go and meet every greaser in town just because I had basically saved two of their own kind.

I tried to tell Cherry to not go in the store, but she just smiled at me and sashayed away, while I had a horrified expression plastered on my face. Other Greasers were hanging outside and whistling at me, and because I didn't want to be taken for a 'date' or any type of trip any time soon, I rushed inside. "Cherry!" I harshly whispered, but she ignored me and walked to the front. "Cherry come back here! Cherry!"

"Excuse me, but do you know if there's someone here who could attend us?" Cherry said simply and looked at her nails, without a worry in the world. I just stood there pretending to be interesting in some windshield wipers.

"What the hell are you broads doin' here again?" Dallas turned to me with a huge scowl on his face and my words stuck to the roof of my mouth. Again. "Didn't I teach ya lesson? Why'd you come here again huh? No one wants you here. Git."

Cherry coughed a little and nudged me. I looked over at her, and I knew then that she was going to take the lead and that I didn't need to talk any sooner. "Well, I was just going to ask your inconsiderate ass if you've seen Ponyboy anywhere."

Dallas laughed at Cherry's attempt to look tuff. "I ain't seen that sucker since he was grounded by his brothers in the morning."

Cherry ignored his remark and she examined her purse. "And I also need an oil change, but you don't look like the guy to know that type of stuff. Or anything else in general."

Dallas raised an eyebrow and dropped his cigarette. He stomped on it and walked up right to her face. "I would watch yer mouth if I was you, ya dumb broad." He jabbed his finger which was almost touching her nose. I felt bad and intimidated. I didn't understand how she couldn't be afraid.

"Woah there Dally, you might want to calm yourself. It wouldn't exactly be amusing to see on the news that greaser assaulted a female Soc. Now wouldn't it?"

Ohhh dammnnn. Cherry is a feisty one. She can be real sweet and turn into a cold hard bitch real fast. I almost laughed out loud but if I did, Dallas might knock my lights out and I had somewhere to be in, -I glanced down at my watch- fifteen minutes.

Dallas smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well well well, what do we have here? A sly little broad." He spit out the words in disgust. "You think you're real tuff don'tcha? You got all the money, and ya think you can control everyone."

His laugh was hollow and filled with no emotion whatsoever, and it scared me. It made me realized that I needed to practice my laugh more because I felt that I laughed like that sometimes, and I hoped that it wasn't as obvious as his.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and stared at the cracks in the floor. Suddenly the back door to the garage flew open, and Sodapop flew in, covered in grease and black patches all over.

"Hey Dally have you seen the wrench. Steve won't let me have his and I need one right now." He went to the shelves and started slamming the open and closed. "Hey Dally, oh wait- STEVE! I NEED THE WRENCH!"

He didn't even notice that Cherry and I were there until he almost mauled me over desperately trying to find this important tool. I quickly stumbled away before he fell on top of me.

"I'm so sorry, uh, miss . . . " he paused for me to continue my name and smiled. I heard Cherry stiffen and hold her breath. Oh lord I hoped Sodapop didn't notice. If you put Cherry and a good looking guy in the same room, total chaos would reign.

"My name is Ali," I said, introducing myself and smoothed my skirt. I heard Dally, cough sarcastically. How could someone cough sarcastically? Cherry nudged me and I nudged her back harder. No way. I wasn't going to be interesting in someone for a long time.

"I'm so sorry Ali that I almost ran into you, but have you seen this wrench? I swear it was right there."

Sodapop was mumbling about how he and Steve were arguing about cars or something like that when Dally shot me a glare that made my blood freeze. He just kept glaring at me. I saw him from the corner of my eye, but paid no attention to it. He was shooting Cherry the same look too, but she kept smiling and posing, this made Dally even madder. He kept glancing over at me as if he was saying 'can you believe this broad is your friend?' The girl has some guts, I thought.

Just then, the door behind us chimed and I heard footsteps. But since I didn't trust Dally enough to turn my back to him, I didn't turn. Cherry did though, I heard her let out another hard and loud breath as I watched Dally take out his switchblade and clean his fingernails. No way, I'm turning around while he has that in his hands. It didn't matter if he didn't have it in his hands. There is no way I'm turning my back to the most dangerous hood there is.

"Oh hi Cherry."

"Hiya boys." Cherry replied happily.

"Did you know that Gone With the Wind is officially the best book ever?"

"I haven't read that book yet," a voice softly replied.

"Me neither, but I would like to read it." Cherry said gushing. I felt embarrassed for her. Could she not be so obvious?

"Oh! If you want me to, I can lend you the book. We also have it in the library too."

Dally adjusted his leather jacket and stared at us before he looked past us and at the voices. "And did you know you're the most annoyingest piece of shit in the world?" He laughed. "How ya doin' kids?"

"I don't think annoyingest is even a word Dally."

"Oh wow man, I didn't know grammer was such important in an area like this."

Sodapop stood up straighter and smiled big and bright. Cherry held her breath. "Hi kid brother!"

I turned to the voice that was becoming so familiar, yet a voice I didn't want to hear again, because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have had to meet these ungrateful people, and my life could have been better. But I couldn't think that because I had met Johnny, and it was nice to talk with him.

I turned to see Ponyboy and Johnny standing hip to hip.

When had Cherry become friends or acquaintances with Ponyboy and Johnny? When? How on earth had I missed this? Cherry was one of the most biggest gossip spreaders!

"Hiya big brother," Ponyboy went to him and crushed him in a hug despite the fact that he smelt really strongly and was covered in grease.

Cherry touched my arm and I moved to the side a little. I could practically feel the excitement she was giving off. Two good looking brothers in the same room.

"Didya know that this broad was lookin' for ya? I mean, damn. They can get so annoying."

Cherry rolled her eyes and with a really pissed of voice she said, "Are you kidding me? I only asked if you knew where Pony was. Jesus! What are you, dumb and deaf too?"

Johnny stared at her, mouth wide in surprise. I was surprised too, Everyone was surprised. Ponyboy was trying his best not to smile.

But Dallas Winston only showed his surprised face for a split second before it turned to one of burning rage. The one where his eyes boiled in anger and not a care for the world, just like me. Except, my eyes didn't boil in anger, they were just filled with sadness.

He raised his arm and was about to strike Cherry, -who didn't even blink when it started to happen- when Pony jumped in. Soda was turned around tying his shoes, but snapped back to look what was happening when Johnny gasped loudly.

"What the hell are you doin' kid? Lemme teach this good for nothin' girly a lesson."

"It doesn't matter Dally, you still need to respect women!" Pony exclaimed, and I feared for him. Who did he think he was yelling at? He for sure was going to have his face hit.

Sodapop wrinkled his nose and went over to the front and retrieved a wrench. _Finally_. "Come on Dal, have a little respect will ya? And don't hit my kid brother or Darry won't hesitate to pummel ya."

I was was just staring at the door and at my watch.

Dally snorted and shrugged, clearly amused at our reactions. "And when have women respected us? They're just broads. Trash. Sluts. Whores. Druggies. Alcoholics. Even more things I can't name from the top of my head." He looked like he was proud of what he had just said.

I for once, was insulted. Who did this . . . greaser, no he was just another person. What did he think he was saying? Who did he think he was? Just because he considered himself tuff and strong because he wasn't afraid of the cops or anything else, didn't give him the right to just beat people up just to blow off steam. Boys were horrible too. They are nothing but cheats, losers, inconceivable brats, troublemakers, two timing lowlifes and man whores. Druggies and alcoholics too.

Men were even worse. They were stronger and had more control because of how demanding and scary they could be if someone didn't follow their directions. So that's why I didn't like boys in general.

"Dally," Johnny sighed and took a small step back, so small it was barely noticeable. I noticed it though, I had done it too when Dally had done all up in Cherry's face. "Come one. Please."

I nervously looked down at my watch. Nine minutes left. I began to sweat.

Dally narrowed his eyes at Johnny. "You takin' their side too?"

Johnny shook his head furiously and Ponyboy's face was still pink from his outburst. Who knew that Ponyboy could be a nice kid? He was younger, but he knew how to treat a woman, despite her attitude or reputation.

Sodapop seemed like a nice fellow too, but unfortunately in this situation, it seemed like he hadn't wanted to be a part of this, even if it meant leaving his kid brother to the evil hands of the most hated hood in town. He had slipped away a long time ago, no one else had noticed but I had. I'd seen when he pretended to go get something and silently headed to the door and slipped through. Oh, how I wished I could have slipped out too. Being here caused nothing but trouble and major inconveniences.

"Oh Johnnycake, what am I going to with ya huh?" He turned to Ponyboy, and Johnny slightly frowned. "Pony shouldn't ya be grounded? I thought Darry woulda locked you in yer room for the stunt that you pulled the other day."

Ponyboy rolled his eyes and his cheeks started to slowly go down in color. "Yeah I'm grounded, but that only means that I can't watch tv. But I don't even do that."

Dally nodded and turned to us, much to my surprise. "Hey, when ya broads gonna leave? We don't' want ya here."

Johnny turned to me and mouthed the words I'm so sorry.

I remember when we had talked and he had apologized for his friends. I didn't understand how two- _three_ good guys could hang out with someone so inconsiderate. I also didn't like how Johnny had apologized to me. It wasn't his fault. It was Dallas' Winston's fault.

"Well? Ya gonna get it if ya don't split. I got my boys running around all over the place. Ya better leave 'fore anyone gets hurt." He leaned in and menacingly whispered. "Ya dig?"

Cherry's jaw clenched, but she smiled.

I stiffened, but I don't think Dally noticed. I had always hidden it. Cherry too, a deep breath in, was about to open her mouth and ask for her death wish and spout something she was going to regret, when I intervened.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience. Ponyboy, you and Cherry can discuss this history subject later okay?"

When had I gotten enough courage to just talk my way out of something?

I pulled Cherry along and ignored the blazing hot stare the Dally was giving me. Did he somehow have a grudge on me? I hadn't done anything, but save both of his friends' lives. What was his problem? Why was he so rude, not just to me, but to everybody, and why did he think it was tuff to disrespect us? "Sorry gentlemen, but we really have to get going."

Johnny was about to say some thing, but I bust out of there. I didn't want to change my mind that not all greasers were mean, and if Johnny talked to me one more time, I might just get fooled. I had rules for myself.

1) Never get close to people so they can't hurt you.

2) And never trust anyone, no matter how convincing they might seem.

3) Don't tell anyone too much information about yourself or else they might use it against you.

I rehearsed these memorized sentences in my head and that was when I ran out the door with Cherry stumbling beside me. There were more greasers gathered around the gas station, eyeing our car. When they saw us, they started hooting and whistling.

I basically threw Cherry in her car and she gave me an unamused look. "Gogogogogogo!" I said loudly and she rolled her eyes.

 **There were Five minutes left** and we had just passed two red lights and almost ran over another Soc. It was all by accident of course, I wouldn't kill someone and leave them be. I furiously looked around and prayed that no cop cars had seen us. But even if they did, they still would have stopped us, but wouldn't have given us a ticket. We were Social chicks, not greasers hoods.

I bit my lip and tried to ignore the soft ticking noises coming from my watch. But Time was ticking, and the thing that SHE hated the most was to wait. I hadn't even changed into my formal wear, and I still needed to do so many things. My stomach churned at the thought. I hated when I was late and everyone went to stare at me.

"Cherry, could you hurry up please? I can't be late." I said as anxiety slowly crept up towards my stomach. "I only have a few minutes left. Hurry."

"Calm down drama queen," she laughed, but I caught the nervous tone that was engraved into it. "So what's the rush? The president visiting?"

I shook my head even though she couldn't turn because her eyes were on the road. "No. It's um," I coughed and lowered my voice. "The Witch."

She went silent and gulped. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I should have taken you home. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright Cherry," I said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, otherwise, I would've been at home already."

The ride home was quiet, awkward and uneventful. When I reached my house with about one minute and ten seconds to spare, Cherry gave me a sympathetic look and said, "Well, good luck and if you don't come to school tomorrow, you don't have to explain why okay?

I nodded and let out a breath when I saw that my grandma's car, wasn't in the parking space.

I heard Cherry's car speed away, and I sighed. I just hoped my mom would

take it easy on me.

"And where in gods almighty name were you, young lady?" My mom seethed as she threw some dresses onto my bed. I gulped.

"Me and Cherry," I began but my mom cut me off.

She narrowed her eyes. "Cherry and I, lord Ali, your grammar is getting worse and worse everyday. What are you doing huh? Those no good hoods in school are messing everything up."

"Cherry and I-"

"Come on, come on, there's no time to be telling stories. Get ready before she comes!"

My mom threw a dress and pushed me into the bathroom. "Now try that okay? Oh and wear the blue stockings with it. And what are you waiting for ? Go!"

I hated dresses.

The only good thing about them, was that they could cover up the bruises pretty easily. I only had to wear some stocking and a sweater and I was set.

The doorbell rang and I knew I had to act my best. After all, my grandmother wa the one who would be getting me out of here one day.

"Ali!" A deep voice called. "Your grandmother's here! Come down and say hi!"

I finished putting on my makeup and see at myself in the mirror. I prayed that no one noticed how tired my eyes looked.

I ran over to the other side of my room and out on some fake glasses. _There you go_ , I thought. _Now it isn't so obvious._

"Ali! Come down now! Don't be rude!"

I gulped and rolled my eyes. I hoped he didn't make it so obvious when we ate dinner together.

"I'm coming, father. _"_

* * *

 **OMG IM SO SORRY FOR ANY SPELLING MISTAKES! Okay so I'm literally finishing this story on my ipad because I'm at my cousins house and I couldn't exactly bring my computer, and you guys must know about autocorrect Right? Well anyways this was a boring chapter, but swear the next one will be better. TOODLES!**


	6. Chapter 6

**GUESS WHO'S BACK AND NOT DEAD? HELLO! MY DEDICATED READERS. I'm so sorry this is really late, I procrastinated too much, and I was finishing my own huge ass history project of Machu Picchu, (I GOT 100%!). I'm starting this chapter pretty late, so beware for any grammar mistakes. *looks to the side and runs off to avoid a mob***

* * *

 **Ali's Pov**

I lay on my bed with my eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling with my eyes full of tears that I was trying to desperately hold in. I was also trying to see if I could hold tears for a long time before I let them run down my face. So that if something happened at school, I wouldn't start crying all of a sudden. I would have some time to at least excuse myself to the nearest bathroom and then cry there.

I was hurting all over again. My _father_ -I wasn't sure if that was what I could call this monster- had gotten drunk and beaten the daylights out of me, right after my grandmother had left saying that I should stand up straighter and act more like a lady.

My mom frowned and reassured her that I would be fixed. Then after grandma got in the car and shut the door, my mom proceeded to scream at me and say that I shouldn't have wasted my time hanging out with Cherry, and that I should have practiced more. The only good thing that had come from the beat down, was that my _father_ hadn't hit my face. That meant I could let my other bruises fade, and I don't' have to worry about trying to cover any new ones.

It was four in the morning and I would have to get up at six, but I couldn't fall asleep. Instead I wondered about Johnny and _his_ bruises. His friends had acted as if it was normal, but I didn't think anything was normal about bruises. Maybe he was clumsy.

"Johnny," I whispered his name to myself. "Johnny." I slowly pronounced his name.

I sighed. It was so unusual. _He_ was so unusual. He seemed like a great person, but if he lived in my area, why was it that I had never seen him at school? Why was it that I hadn't seen any of those greasers at school?

Was it because I lived in my own little world? Was it because, I was so selfish and worried about myself only and how my life was miserable? Was it because of that?

I sighed again and closed my eyes. And for the longest time, I only heard my breath fill the room, and that was how I fell asleep. _Another day, give me another day and I'll do something good with my life,_ I thought. And I welcomed darkness.

"Did you know that there's this conspiracy theory that the people knew who was going to kill John F. Kennedy, but they didn't do anything?" She whispered loudly, but no one looked over to what we were talking about. I would have been embarrassed if anyone had heard what Marcia was babbling about. I thought she spoke too much, and she thought I spoke too little. Cherry was right in between, so she balanced us out.

Cherry sighed, rolled her eyes and took a small bite of her sandwich. "Lord Marica, do you know all of that is just rumors? It's not like any of that is true. And if it was, the government would have killed you before you could have had the chance to say anything."

Marcia just looked around and leaned in closer. "Did you also know that the Unites States knew about the attack on Pearl Harbor? And since the people didn't want to go to war, they needed a good reason to enter? And did you know that that's why they didn't do anything?"

"Marica, that's a bunch of baloney and you know it." I said my voice raising a little and looked outside the window. Even if it was true, I didn't like to dwell on the past. The past was something that should be forgotten, especially if there were bad things that had happened.

Marica just smiled, leaned back and opened her own lunch. Then she stopped and looked at me. I grew uneasy as she watched me with curiosity. "Hey, I thought you said your dad was going to buy you lunch today," Marcia glanced up at the clock. "Did you even bring any?"

I didn't want to tell her that my dad had cussed me out, and had told me to starve to death, and that he didn't care, but I didn't dare even mention it. My stomach was hurting; it always did when I didn't eat, but thank god it wasn't making noises.

"Yeah, he _was_ going to bring me lunch, but I'm on a diet. I think I'm getting a little too big." I lied straight to her face, and I even had the nerve to smile. Oh, how my lying had gotten better these past few years..

Marica nodded, to tell me she completely understood and swallowed her jello. She shot up and ran to the garbage can where she was talking to this guy. I internally wiped the sweat that was starting to form on my face from how nervous I was. I was glad I got her out of the way. Now, it was Cherry, who I needed to convince.

Cherry frowned. "Again? You're on a diet _again_? Weren't you on a diet last month?" She scooted over to me and grabbed my hands. I almost flinched, fearing that she would roll up my sleeves, but she only held them in her hands, and squeezed. I tensed. "I mean, you're not fat. Not even chubby. You're as skinny as a stick. Why are you dieting again?"

She gave me this look, and I knew I had to get my act together. _Breath, one. Two. Three. Act like nothing's the matter. Seem relaxed. Calm. Composed,_ I thought, repeating the memorized phrase in my head again.

I giggled and shook me hands away from hers playfully. "Cherry, relax. I was just kidding. Well, not about the diet part. But my dad was going to get me this full blown huge meal, but I didn't want it to go to waste, so I asked him if he could get me something small. I told him to get me a salad and leave it at home."

She narrowed her eyes and shot a look at Marcia, who was too busy, still talking to some guy by the trash can. Cherry reached into her lunch bag and brought out a small bag of chips. "Here, you can have this if you want."

I looked at her, my mouth was watering, but I didn't want to seem too eager. It would seem strange and suspicious. "Really? Are you sure? I mean, I can wait until I get home." But honestly, I couldn't wait to get home. I was starving because I had missed breakfast because he had decided to wake up early. And I didn't want to get in his way. He looked cranky, so I ran off to school, exhausted and hungry.

"Of course you can have it chica!" She cracked a smile.

"Well I'm just going to have this, but just once. I'm cutting down on eating unhealthy food." I slowly and nonchalantly took the bag from her hands and slowly snapped it open. _Seem relaxed. Stay Calm and Composed,_ I thought again fighting the urge to completely empty the bag in two seconds.

I looked in, and took a single chip, and bit a small piece from it. The saltiness engulfed my tongue and I wanted to cry. I was just too hungry for my own liking.

"Attention class," Mrs. Weirdo called -it wasn't her actual name, but no one liked her and she was strange indeed- "We will be starting a project. So you will need to partner up in pairs, you have three minutes. After that, I will explain what we will be working on. And please. Choose your partners wisely-"

And once she said those words ' _pair up with a partner_ ', everyone was flying out of their seats pairing up with their friends and she hadn't even finished what she was about to say. I however, didn't even budge out of my seat. I just stared at all the kids in my class squealing, hugging, fistbumping, and slaps on the back and laughing.

I had friends from all around this school and everyone knew me pretty well because of Bob, but they were only people I talked with; they weren't my real friends. There was no special connection in what I had in Cherry or Marica. They weren't people who I could really talk to. And in this class, I was all alone. I was always alone. At home. And at school.

I was about to go up and tell that teacher I was going to work solo, when someone slumped down next to me.

"Hey, you're that shy girl. I saw ya at the DX the other day," a familiar voice said and laughed. I felt an arm creep up my shoulder, and I jumped back by instinct. I didn't like any physical contact.

I turned around, and I saw Two-Bit. He looked slightly offended that I had refused him, but he was smiling like there was no tomorrow. And it was kind of creepy. No, it _was_ creepy.

"What are you doing here?" I asked full of confusion.

He raised an eyebrow and threw up his hands in the air. "Because I'm in this class?"

I had never, _ever_ seen him in this class since the beginning of the year. I was pretty sure he wasn't even in my grade. He looked way older to be in Junior year. He looked like he was older. Even older that senior, but looks could be deceiving, so I didn't say this outloud. It was already October, and I hadn't seen him once. So I thought, that he had to be lying. I thought, he had snuck in here and was visiting one his many girlfriends. I looked back and saw too many of my kind -The Socs- so then I grew confused. What was he really doing here?

"Then, why haven't I seen you _ever_ , in this class?"

He looked around and leaned in, right next to my ear. I almost spasmed out, but caught myself from shivering at his hot clammy breath against my ear. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Don't tell hairwoman over there, but I skip around a lot." He sat back in the seat and smiled even wider, if that was even possible. "Nah, just kiddin', I skip all the time. And history ain't my cup of tea."

I stared at him and he continued. "An' I was wonderin' if you could pair up with me." He looked me up and down, squinting and looking like he was thinking real hard. "Ya know, 'cause ya seem smart. Ya prolly have brains and the smarts like Pony. An' I can't have another detention this week, or else my ma will cut me up."

Another detention this week? This week? It was MONDAY for christ's sake!. Was he really asking to pair up with me? No way. It didn't matter that I was a soc, or that he was a greaser. If someone paired up with me, that meant the project would most likely have to be at my house. And that was where hell was, and I didn't want to come home with someone to find my dad boozed up. I didn't want anyone to see my dad boozed up or hitting me.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline." I was about to stand up and leave, when Mrs. Weirdo told the class to shut up. "Alright! Alright! Noise level down! I will go around and you guys will tell me who you're partnering up with. Be ready when I come by."

And you know where she went first? Us. Just my luck.

She sighed and tapped her foot. The other kids had started to chat up again, but she paid basically no attention to them. Only to Two-Bit, "Hello Keith." -Two-bit smiled and I almost laughed out loud. His name was Keith? - "Haven't seen you around much in my class. Or school for that matter." She said in a monotone voice, cloaked in annoyance.

He shrugged and tried in vain to suppress another grin. "Yeah, ya know. Always travelin'."

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah right, did you know, you already have an F in this class? You keep it up and I'll make you have lunch duty." -Two-Bit made a face- "And don't make me get started on why you're not really showing up in this class."

She sighed even louder this time, and then she looked in my direction and she gave me this sorrowful look, raised her eyebrows and looked down at her chart. "So . . ." she hesitantly began, "you kids are going to . . . _pair up_?" She said 'pair up' as if it was such an impossible thing, and if she had said this, I would have agreed with her.

I was going to open my mouth and ask her where on earth could she have gotten that idea from, but before I could, that was when Two-Bit sprang up from his seat before I could even take a breath to speak.

"Yes ma'am. Me and doll over here have agreed to work on this project. We'll work long and hard, so you don't have to worry about us." Two-Bit shot me a look and I closed my mouth. It wasn't a threatening look, but you could never know. People are too deceiving these days.

"Mathews and Sheldon. Huh, didn't see that one coming. Well, good luck." She looked at me, ignoring the greaser next to me as if he wasn't sitting there, and she whispered. "You'll need it."

And only then, when she walked away to a group of squealing girls to pair them up, Two-Bit cracked up.

"Ha! Woah, this hair woman is so rude. Geez, what'd I ever do to her huh?" He asked chuckling and nudged my shoulder hard.

No. This was not how I wanted things to turn out. But I couldn't open my mouth, because I was afraid of what Two-Bit might do. He seemed unpredictable and I couldn't trust him. Yet. He even looked dangerous.

"So doll, ya know what this project's about?" He asked as he combed back his hair. "Oh and by the way, what's yer name? Wasn't it something like Alex, or Alaiana or somethin'?"

"Ali. It's Ali." I whispered and looked down at my painted fingers. They were this baby blue color.

He smirked. "Well Ali, looks like we're going to have a lot of fun with this project." He wiggled his eyebrows and never in my life had I wanted to run out.

 **LOG DAY ONE - TUESDAY: PROJECT WITH TWO-BIT MATHEWS = BAIL**

After the long search almost all over the school, I had finally found Two-Bit. He was hanging around by the entrance of the school, and he held a pack of Kools in his hand. He was just staring outside the doors, and that was when I knew I only had just one chance to speak with him. He didn't look busy or anything, so there wasn't anyway I could screw this up right?

I walked up right to him.

"Hey Two-Bit, I was wondering if we should first start working on the research paper before we do the model, so we can gather up a bit of information as we go or if we should start doing them at the same time. I think I like the first option better so maybe we can start gathering data and all that other important stuff."

Two-Bit just stared at me and cracked a smile, but I was confused because I hadn't said anything funny. "Hey doll, I'm goin' to hafta bail out on you 'cause I don't do to well on models or projects, or anythin' that involves school. Welp, so see ya and good luck on the project." He said winking at me. He starting flicking out a smoke and walked off.

I didn't know why he had to smile, because this wasn't a funny matter. This was a very serious matter. This project was due in a month and a half, and if my dad was going to act like he always did, I wasn't going to have enough time going in between acting like I was fine and doing a project all by myself.

Two-Bit had just bluntly and without any consideration about his other partner . . . he had just left me all alone! _Oh man, if I had maybe just asked him to come to my house, and THEN I would have started talking about the project! Maybe he might have changed his mind if a broad asked him to go to her house . . . No! Dad might be home, and drunk and I don't want any trouble. Oh no, did I just completely screw this up? I couldn't have just asked to meet up as his house -shoot. We could've just started it at school!_

I was going to yell at him and tell him to come back here right this instant because we needed to work on this project together, when I saw Two-Bit get without another greaser, I think it was Steve, leave in a car. He didn't even turn back and wave at me. He had the nerve to smile! SMILE!? Right to my face!

As the jumbled and beat up car sped off I felt my stomach drop.

And with that, Two-Bit had officially left me, and I was solo on this project. I should have known, that this guy, not to mention greaser, would do nothing.

Right from the start when he had so basically forced me to join and 'work' with him in a group. But it didn't really matter because then no one would have to come to my house, and I wouldn't have to go to anyone's house. And that was just fine. I wouldn't have had enough time or energy anyways.

We were all doing models on this mountain range in Peru. Something about this Match Pitch or something.

I looked down at the research paper and tried to sound the weird word out. "M-machu Pi-cchu?"

Well then, it looks like I was doing this model all by myself about this historical landmark I had never even heard about. I didn't even know what it looked like, so that meant my time would be spent in the library and that was fine too. I had an excuse not to go home, and not look suspicious.

When I got to the library and found the word, I got some pictures and read a little, learning that Machu Picchu was a mountain range in the Andes Mountains where Incan - OMG IT WAS SO BORING! I didn't care about Match Pitch, or whatever the mountain range was called! I just wanted to go home and sleep. Just sleep. And just thinking about it made my yearn my soft comfortable bed even more.

I sighed loudly and put the book down with a loud thump. The librarian eyed me and I thought she was going to yell at me, but I pretended I didn't see her and looked down at the book.

Reading was horrible. I read for sure, but only when I needed to. Reading for fun wasn't my cup of tea or idea of taking a break.

Instead of writing the informative essay about my assigned project, I thought that I would start the model. It would be quicker and more fun, rather than writing that essay.

I got out a tiny paper pad from my backpack and started to write a list of things that I would need to complete the project.

 _1\. Glue_

 _2\. Newspaper_

 _3\. Cardboard_

 _4\. Aluminum foil_

 _5\. Cotton balls_

 _6\. More motivation to actually begin the project._

I sighed softly this time and peeked a glance at the librarian, but she was looking down. Probably at some papers or some books. I put my pencil down and crossed out number six.

I stared at it for a while and tapped my pencil on my chin, and rewrote it quickly. I nodded to myself and left it on the list, because it was the truth. I really needed motivation to start this project, because to be honest, I didn't want to do it alone. I didn't really like school, but it wasn't like I could skip everyday. My mom would skin me, and my dad; well I wouldn't know what he would do. I didn't want to imagine what he would do.

Oh man, what I really needed in my life was a reason to do this project. I could care less about getting a bad grade, but if I did I would get scolded by my mom, and it would mean another reason for my dad to beat me up.

This was going to be a long day.

 **LOG DAY TWO - WEDNESDAY: PROJECT WITH TWO-BIT MATHEWS = EXCUSES**

I had been looking for this sneaky fox all day because he had so-called skipped again. I didn't believe if for a second that a . . . aaaaaa . . . bright yet clumsy greaser could skip school, until I saw him wandering the halls. At first I didn't know it was him until I heard that familiar and obnoxious laugh that was loud and echoey. And by the time I had realized, it was too late because he had disappeared.

I spent the next five minutes, rounding corners, peering hallways and sneaking or basically sprinting into the girl's bathroom, just to avoid any teachers on hall duty. And do you want to know where I found him? The exact same place where I had _first_ found him. Now, if only I had know that since the beginning, otherwise I wouldn't have needed to roam the hallways during gym period, risking my own hide looking for this guy. I tried softly to sneak up on him, and possible scare him by sputtering out random facts from the top of my head, but he turned around at the last second.

Once Two-Bit saw me, he flashed me one of his good natured grins. I was getting tired of them to be honest. And I didn't get why he smiled so much. Life wasn't as funny as he viewed it, but what would he know? It wasn't like he was beat up . . . Right?

 _Note to self, check for any signs of bruises. Check standing up stance. Check eyes. The eyes are the gateway to the soul . . ._ I thought.

I approached him as he ran his hand through his hair and leaned against the doorframe of the door.

"Listen Two-Bit," I began, "I know you're not that type of guy to just suddenly you know, put all the weight of something on another person's shoulders." I said and stared at him. He stared back at me with no expression whatsoever on his face and I coughed to get the conversation back up again.

"So I was wondering if you could help me with the project. It's due next month, but the sooner the better right? And I really can't do this alone. I need actual help." I said and shuffled my feet. _I hope he doesn't say something total unbelievable and stupid,_ I thought.

He looked around and pulled out a smoke from his pocket. "Listen. _Ali_ ," he sighed. "I have this totally important thing after school and like I said, I ain't the guy to be put in project together-"

"Then why did you even pair up with me?" I asked, my voice filled with anger, but he just smiled. I wanted to smack him in the face and wipe that smile off til next week. I was just sick of his smartass attitude, It was like he owned this place, It was like he actually didn't give any damn care about what was happening. Or what was _going_ to happen.

"Didn'tcha hear me? I said it was 'cause you looked smart. Ya know? Like Ponyboy. Now he gets things done faster than a lightning bolt hits the ground." He whistled and dangled his cigarette in his mouth. "And like I said, I got this really important thing after school. I can't miss it for the world."

 _Here we go with the lame excuses,_ I thought. I sighed deeply and counted to three. I smiled, and I felt Two-Bit tense up. I hoped that he thought I was going to explode and go all crazy woman on him. Instead, my voice came out as calm as the sea breeze.

"Then kind sir, would you explain what is this so called _important event_ that you simply can't miss for the world?"

His jaw dropped open, before he closed it and smiled too. He readjusted his leather jacket. "Yeah, actually me and a friend -I think you met him, his name's Steve- well we're going to this," he leaned in and I leaned back. "Drag race to meet up with some broads."

I almost yelled at him right then and there, but I didn't because I didn't want to get a detention for skipping gym and roaming the halls and caught within a meter with a greaser.

With the calmest voice possible I breathed out. "And _that_ is why you can't help me with this project that is worth half our grade? That was the reason you can't just help me with something you got yourself into? Did you know that if you hadn't jumped in, saying that you and I were partners them I wouldn't be bothering you about the project?" I was getting angry at every breath because he didn't seem to be listening to me. He was even facing me. He keep looking out that damn window.

And once again he shrugged and looked out the door window like he was waiting for someone. It was the middle of the day! Who could he be waiting for during school hours? It wasn't that Steve for sure. Two-Bit himself had said he was going to see drag races with him after school. I was going to yell at him again, but once he looked out the window again, he smiled. And this time I didn't understand what he was smiling about and my anger got over me. I was just so frustrated and stressed out that day. My body was sore and I was aching and I couldn't tell anybody.

I slapped him in the face so hard my nails made a mark and his cheek turned red. He whipped his head back at me with an scared or maybe amused look and I wanted to explode. Why couldn't' he pay attention? Why couldn't he take anything seriously? I was already frustrated and angry that he was being cocky and ignorant. He took a step forward, and I took one backward. I was scared, really scared, because this was a greaser I had just slapped, but I wasn't going to back down. I didn't want to seem weak to someone who was below me in social standards. I had the advantage. I could sue him for every penny he had if he laid a finger on me, and I wasn't afraid to do it. _I won't do it though,_ I thought.

I didn't want to be the same person I was at home. In school I was Ali Sheldon, Bob's younger sister. Someone who stood up to the bully and seemed fearless and unafraid. I was the popular and pretty girl who everyone liked, well, except for Dallas Winston for some reason. But that didn't matter, because he was only one person.

And at home, I was a different person. I was just Ali. Not Ali Sheldon, the outgoing seemingly happy girl who enjoyed life. I wasn't the girl anyone knew. I was just this scared little girl who was scared of her own shadow because I just was. I was scared of everything. I was scared that someone might hurt me and break me more than I was already was. I was someone who was afraid of her own father at home. Someone who couldn't even look at him in the eyes, at how afraid she was. I was the scared girl who no one knew, not even Bob.

Everything, my whole reason and being, was to keep those two people separate from each other. To keep those lives; one strictly at home and one strictly at school. A personal life and a professional life. No one needed to know

He moved to the side slowly as I stared at him, and my back now faced the door.

"What on earth is your problem huh? Why do you always smile? Why does it seem like the actually don't care about anything?" I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. "Why do you always get-"

"Why do you always get so fired up over such a small thing?" I familiar voice said. "I mean, you're so annoying. Man, why are you even here, _broad_?"

I froze mid sentence. I knew that voice by heart. That hard cold tone that made anything think that they were going to be face to face with a murderer. And guess who it was? Dallas Winston.

I turned around and he glared at me before he turned to Two-Bit.

"Man Two, what'd you do now? Didya piss of this broad and she broke up with you?" He turned to face me. His eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance."Hey you, girly. What are ya even doin' here huh? Did ya lose your way?" He leaned in, taking a step forward and towered over me. I felt sick to my stomach. "Do ya want me to show you the way?"

In a split second, without even thinking, I sprinted from underneath his terrible glare down the hall. I could still feel his hot breath against my forehead and I furiously rubbed it with the back of my hand.

"You're crazy! You're all crazy!" I shouted, hoping that they didn't notice my voice was a little shaky. "Just a bunch of greasers!"

I could see that Dallas smiled even from faraway. Anyone would have probably seen his smirk from a mile away. "Greasers and proud to be one!"

I ran off.

I wasn't going to meet up with Two-Bit anytime soon.

 **LOG DAY FOUR - THURSDAY: PROJECT WITH TWO-BIT MATHEWS = ALONE**

I had avoided Two-Bit and any type greaser for the past two days. I didn't even want to get started on how he had tried to get my attention, but I had sped off like there was no tomorrow.

I had already started to mold the shape of the mountain with some tin foil and that was good because I thought I was going to completely mess it up and ruin it, but I hadn't. Unfortunately, just like my life was, the avoiding situation didn't last long. Because that day Two-Bit decided not to skip class, and he sat close to me.

"Hey! Pssst! You! The shy girl! Ali!" He kept repeating and whispering loudly. And when I ignored him, looked the other way, and pretended he didn't exist, he literally inched his desk right next to mine. The squeaking and dragging noises made the teacher halt her speech.

The girls were whispering and staring at me, and I felt my face go red. Mrs. Weirdo shouted at the class, and told them to shut up.

"Mr. Mathews," she began. "Put your desk back where it was, and go to the office. Now."

Two-Bit sighed. "I don't' get what I did wrong."

"You were disrupting my class."

"Um, no I wasn't."

"Mr. Mathews, don't let me repeat myself."

He sighed, got up and headed for the door. "Don't think you can get out of this one Ali," he said and stepped out.

I was in the middle of closing my locker when Bob appeared out of thin air. I was surprised, because he never even looked in my direction at school, and now he was right next to me.

"Ali, I've been hearing around that some greasers are bothering you." He looked around, scoping the hallway. "Is it true? Well Ali?"

I tensed up and grabbed my books from my top shelf. "Yeah, but they're not bothering me-"

"What are their names? Who do I have to kill?" He said in a serious voice, that I couldn't take it seriously. He looked angry, and

I laughed softly, but realized that I had to lie right in his face, like the many times I had done before without any hesitation. "I don't know their names. They're different people each time. And they only annoy me."

"Yeah okay, well anyways. Just tell me if they bother you again, and I'll beat their asses up okay?." He bent down and tied his shoelaces. "So what are you doing after school? Dad wants to take us out to dinner with mom."

I cut him off pretty quickly. "No, tell him I can't. I'm working on this huge project with this classmate. And we agreed to get together and work on it today."

Bob raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Really? What's your classmate's name."

I shuffled my feet. "His name is Keith."

"Last name?"

"Do you think I care? I'm not bonding with people here. I just want to get the project done" I said sassing him back. I just wanted him to think I didn't care about who I was working with. Just like all the other girls and boys. They just wanted a good grade. It didn't matter if they had to steal from someone else.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at . . . "

"I don't' know what time. I'll call you on the payphone okay?"

"Sure. But don't stay out too late. Or dad's going to freak."

"I know."

"Yeah doll, I've been lookin' for ya all over the place. I just wanted to talk to you."

I spun around in my chair, hoping that I was going to get some reaction from him. But I didn't. "I've been looking for you too, I need to talk to you about something important."

"Oh really?" He asked in a hushed voice, but I ignored him and got right down to the point.

"Yes. Well I need to go over to your house because we need to work on the project."

He raised his hands and stepped back. "Woah Ali, remember when I told ya I don't do projects well? Didn'tcha hear me, are ya deaf or somethin'? And why my house? Why not your house? They're big and open. You could work well there."

I ignored the house question, and skipped right over to the deaf part

"I heard you loud and clear, but I can't go home tonight without having shown my parents that I've advanced my project. I told them I was going to finish soon."

He scratched the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Well my house is kinda messy, and my little sis is annoying when I bring girls over at my house," he winked at me, " so we can go over to the Curtis'."

I tried not to cough. The Curtis' house? Was I even allowed back there? What if they didn't like me because I was a Soc? And the big one -Pony's older brother- he looked scary. He looked like he could beat up three tough guys without breaking a sweat. I tried to think my way around it, and concentrated on the biggest threat. "Will that Dallas Winston be there?"

He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows -something I didn't even know a person was able to do. "Woah Ali, I didn't know you liked bad boys that much."

I felt my cheeks flush up. "I don't!" I said harshly,

I didn't know where he had gotten that absurd idea from.I had been asking because I hated him, and he made me feel uncomfortable, so as a precaution, I had just asked.

"Well, maybe." he smiled at me. "He comes around their house sometimes. He's unexpected."

"But will he come around today?"

He rolled his eyes. "If you like him that much, just tell him Ali! You don't need to be so shy!"

"But I don't like him!"

"Yeah, just keep telling yourself that."

"Whatever," I said as a new thought came to me. "Will Johnny and Pony be there?"

He looked up at me and put on his leather jacket. "What? Them? Johnny will probably stop by and Pony, well he lives there remember?"

"I know, but he doesn't have anything after school right?

"Oh yeah, nope. I think he doesn't have track practice today. Or was that yesterday? I don't know, you gotta find out today."

I shrugged and swung my backpack over my shoulder. "Okay, lead the way cowboy."

"Well let's get going."

"I'm just waiting for you," I said.

We walked out the door together, and no one said anything, because we had left school early, exiting through the back door. We began to walk, and he got closer to me and bumped my shoulder. I thought he was going to hit me or something.

"If you really like Dally, you should just tell him ya know? Wait, no you shouldn't. He likes broads that are hard to get. Ya know what I mean?" He whispered and nudged me.

Before I even realized it, I was laughing. I didn't know if it was because of his bad humour, or if it was because I was relieved that I had a friend that I could talk to. That damn Two-Bit didn't understand a thing about me, but you couldn't stay mad at him forever. I mean, if you looked at the goofy smile and dumb way he stood or walked, you would be laughing at him every second.

"Hey! I didn't know you could laugh! You look pretty when you smile." He chuckled as I shook my head. "Now, only if you're eyes would smile too."

* * *

 **I bring unfortunate news. Due to my procrastination and the nearing of the end of the year and family reasons, I have to say that the updates will probably lessen. It's just that it's almost the end of the year and so many things are happening. My graduation, ceremony, dance, projects, recitals, family reunions, vacations and many more stuff. This doesn't mean I'll abandon the story, it just means that it'll take longer to update. I also need ideas people! Message me with some ideas, you want to put in and I might just do it. I'll still update, but until my next chapter, Stay Gold - Angela**


	7. Chapter 7

**Guess who decided to stop procrastinating and start writing? ME! AND GUYS I GOT SECOND PLACE IN MY HISTORY PROJECT! *dabs excessively* I. Feel. So. Proud. Of. Myself! Well anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. ;)**

* * *

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON DALLY)**

 **(but also*COUGH COUGH* JOHNNY & ALI *COUGH COUGH*)**

Dallas Winston had downed his third beer in less than ten minutes when all of a sudden he got the idea that he should go and find some action, rather than to stay at a boring party watching people get hopelessly drunk and wasted beyond belief. He glanced around the darkened room filled with loud obnoxious music, dancing people, and he slowly stood up; his back cracking as he did so. This caught the attention of another greaser that was with him.

"Where ya goin' Dal?" Two-Bit asked as he held a half empty beer bottle in his right hand, his left hand grabbing the railing to balance himself. A goofy grin was plastered on his face. "Cause the party's only just know a party ain't a party without Dallas Winston." He laughed at his own joke, before he took a long sip of his beer.

Dally only rolled his eyes, and simply ignored his comment. "This part sucks, just like you do. I'm leavin'. Going for some fun tonight." He said and started to light a cigarette.

Two-Bit only shrugged absentmindedly, losing interest in his and Dally's conversation. But before he was able to say anything else, he was sucked right into another conversation that had no purpose. And behind him Dally zipped up his jacket, and with that, he left.

It was only around eight in the evening, when he decided to visit the Curtis' house, because he hadn't found anyone to beat up, and he was bored. _I'll bet they have something to do,_ he thought, _as he scratched his head. Cause if I get any more bored than this, I'll jump off a maybe I'll beat up Tim._

It was a regular Friday. Pretty normal for anyone, but people don't really know what normal means. So tell me; define normal. What does normal really mean?

Was someone's normal seeing someone else being beat up? Was someone's normal, hanging out with friends at a park? Was someone's normal fighting with someone else for fun? Was someone's normal breaking into houses and killing people? Normal, had many definitions, depending on how you lived you life. What was normal? Well, for Dallas Winston, normal was hanging around, looking for fights -anything that broke the law- and anything that got him occupied and busy. Anything that made him look tough as steel.

Dally walked up and down the street hoping he could catch sight of Johnny. _If he comes in with another bruise anywhere near his face, I'll pummel his parents, h_ e thought. But in reality, he knew he couldn't. For if he did, it would only get worse for Johnny.

Dally was about to throw open the door of the Curtis' house, when he heard a loud pitched laugh. At first he dismissed this laugh for one of Pony's annoying, overreactive laughs. But as he started to turn the doorknob he heard more talking, and that same high pitched voice. Now he knew that it was a broad. He, for a split second thought it might of been Sandy -Soda's girl- but all of that vanished when the door flew open and there stood a redhead. She had been laughing, but when she came face to face with Dallas Winston, her laughter ended quickly. Her smile faded, and her posture changed.

He just stared as Pony walked up behind her, his cheeks a small tint of pink -probably from the laughter- then he stopped smiling too.

"Oh hey Dally," he said and looked over at Cherry, who looked at Dally apprehensively. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at a party at Bucks."

"Yeah well I got bored. Two-Bit is still there, getting himself drunk as hell." He quickly averted all his attention from him to Pony. "Hey Pony, I didn't know you got yourself a broad." He let out a puff of smoke as Pony shoved his hands in his front pockets and looked down. "Isn't her name Candy, or Cindy or . . . Chelly or somethin'?"

Cherry readjusted her purse and patted down her hair. She looked Dally up and down as if she was unimpressed by him presence -and she was- but she calmly said, "It's actually Cherry."

Dally waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He turned to face Pony again, ignoring the fact the he seemed uncomfortable. "You seen Johnnycake anywhere? Didn't see him as school yesterday."

Pony glanced at Cherry again and looked back up at Dally. "I think he went out with a classmate." He pursed his lips. "Went out to do a project or something."

Dally nodded, realizing that Pony wasn't telling him everything. But he wasn't going to push him, like he would usually do, because he was in a good mood. He felt generous.

He shot a glance at the driveway, finding it empty. "Where's Superman? He know you got a lady friend over?" He smirked. "Where's Soda? He out with Sandy?"

Pony nodded. "Yeah Darry knows. He went out for dinner with some buddies of his at work. He's coming back around ten. And Soda? I have no idea where he is. I think he's with Steve."

Dally nodded and just stood there for a second before he got tired of the silence. "Well kiddies, gonna look for some fun," he turned and scoffed at Cherry. "Oh and Pony knows the rules, so try not to pull anything ya broad."

He spun around and walked on down the road. He heard Cherry sigh and take a deep breath.

"Bye Pony. And thank you again, you know, for defending me."

"Yeah, no problem. And I'm sorry again. You know . . . Dally."

Dally snickered loudly, as their voices started to fade away, and as he passed a dim streetlight he stomped out his cigarette and pulled out another one. Defending her from what? Me?

He was walking up to this shop, probably going to rob it or steal something when the door flung open.

"And did you know that he's famous? Like he got really popular after his book." A girl said.

"Wow, I didn't know that. He writes some good books. I'll have to read some more."

Dally looked up and saw Johnny. He went to say something, but when he realized that this girl, he shut his mouth. He didn't want to make Johnny mad at him, for being rude to the girl. Dally was glad to see Johnny, but he couldn't say the same to the broad.

 _What's a slut like her doin' in a place like this after dark? Aren't her parents going to be worried? He almost laughed out loud. I hope she gets picked on by some of my guys._

He quickly regained his tough composure and started to think about the situation. He was beyond displeased, he was pissed and a little hurt, that Johnny would want to hang out with an annoying Socy broad he had just met a few days ago, than with him. But he wasn't letting anyone know that he was a little hurt. He would have to kill the person if they found out. But when he saw the girl he hated next to him, he couldn't hold it in. If he couldn't be directly mean to her, he could do it indirectly. Dally ignored the girl.

"Hey Johnnycake! What're you doin' out so late at night?" He asked as he gave Johnny a noogie on the head. Ali gave him a wary look, but Dally didn't even seem to care.

Johnny rolled his eyes and fixed his hair, giving Dally an annoyed look before he spoke. "I was just talking to Ali about this project at school-"

"Why didn't you talk to Pony about it? Isn't he in some of the same classes as you? I saw him just a little while ago."

"No he isn't. And Ali asked me to watch a movie with her and after that we cou-"

"Why didn't she ask me? I could've taken you, and we would've have had to pay."

Johnny wrinkled his nose. "I know, but I just wanted to talk with her-"

"You could talk to me. You don't have to hang around this no good broad."

Johnny stopped talking and got quiet. He glanced over at Ali who was looking a little scared. She was holding on tightly to her little purse. Dally almost smiled.

"Dally . . . could you please not disrespect her?" He asked in a small voice.

Dally smirked this time. "What you mean her? And why should I stop. Why's she doin' in our territory anyways?"

Johnny bit his lip and in a quiet voice he said. "Well as I was saying . . . she invited me to go and hang around with her."

Dally widened his eyes. "And you accepted? Johnny don't you know better?"

Johnny looked back at Ali, and back to Dally. "I was wondering if you could come with us to buy something at the corner store. You know down the block."

Dally shrugged. "I have nothing better to do."

Johnny changed the topic, Dally thought. He shrugged away the thought. Of course he would. He doesn't like all the attention for himself.

"I'll go get us something to drink okay?" Johnny said with a small smiled on his face.

He was worried about leaving Dally and Ali alone, but he couldn't take the stress. He had to leave for a while and think what he was going to do with a greaser who hated everything -especially Socs- and a girl Soc whom he had started to get close with -who hated dangerous people- meaning Dallas Winston.

 _I'm so selfish for doing this. Oh Ali, I hope you forgive me,_ he thought. Guilt was starting to form in the pit of his stomach. _I hope Dally doesn't do anything dumb. He's too smart to go beating around with Socy girls right?_ He was trying not to show any nervous actions.

"I'll be back in a while okay?" He said and looked at Ali. A worried look was plastered on his face, but it was too dark for anyone to notice.

"Okay," she said simply.

"Sure man," Dally replied and looked down at Ali, who was staring ahead. He could tell she was nervous, but he smiled. He liked making people feel nervous. Johnny walked away, unbeknownst to him that a detailed conversation about him, was going to get heated.

Dally leaned back and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. Ali was fidgeting with her purse, the silence was killing both of them, so Dally was the one who spoke up first.

"So, uh, you and Johnny close?"

She swallowed and slowly said, "Yeah. I can say we're pretty close."

Dally lit his cigarette. "I don't want no damn explanation. It's a yes or no question, and yer goin' to give me a yes or no answer."

Ali licked her lips. She was feeling nervous and scared and thirsty at the same time. _I hope Johnny gets back quickly,_ she thought. "Yes. Johnny and I are close."

Dally stomped his foot on the ground and took a deep breath in, before he let it out.

It was about one minute later when Ali broke the silence with a surprising question.

"Why don't you like me? Is it because of Johnny?"

Dally was too stunned to even register this, but when he did he got mad. _Why doesn't this good for nothing broad get it?_

His eyes narrowed, and he stomped out his cancer stick so so quickly Ali didn't have time to register what was happening. She didn't have time to step away either. The only thing Dally felt was pure rage, but if he beat up a Socy girl, he might be put in prison for the rest of his life, and he didn't want that. He wanted to go in and out, and not just stay in there.

"I don't want know one hurtin' Johnny 'cause he's already had enough in his life. His parents don't give a rat's ass about him, and I don't want him getting hurt." His voice lowered, but the tone hardened even more. "I don't want a good for nothin' broad hanging all over him, making him feel special, and then goin' on and breakin' his already fallin' apart heart. So if you little slut -hurt him in any way, I'm coming after you and your family. Got that?"

Ali just stood there staring. In disbelief and shock. She didn't care about her family, but she only nodded. Her hands were wrapped around her body. "Do his parents hurt him?"

Dally shrugged his shoulders casually as if it was not a big deal. He leaned against the brick wall, his head hitting the hard cold bricks. "What'd I say? They don't give a rats ass about him."

Her voice softened, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear about what they were discussing. No one was there, or close or nearby but she didn't hesitate to lower her voice. Ali knew this was a serious topic, and that these types of conversations should be respected. "Is that why he had all those bruises?"

Dally smirked. "Yep, now if you think he's ugly and worthless you can just say so now, and you can get out of his life. It'll hurt him less."

She felt hurt by Dally's words. _I could never hate him,_ she thought angrily, but her anger faded as she realized what Dally had said. _His parents hurt him? No. This isn't supposed to be happening. It can happen to me, but it can't happen to Johnny. He's too kind and sweet for this_ . . . her thoughts raced as she tried to process all this. _When did it start? How and why?_

Her voice started to slightly quiver "I don't hate him. I can never hate him. He's too young and kind to be hit. He's too good for that."

Dally laughed. "Man I if I acted like that -nice all of a sudden- my folks would kill me. They'd think I'd turn into some mutant." His voice remained cold and icy, but his voice lowered. "His parents don't think that. They think he's worthless and worth absolute shit. That's why they beat him. His old man usually does the beatings, but that hag can slap pretty hard. She's got that foul mouth too. I don't understand why he just doesn't get it." Dally shook his head.

"Why? What did he ever do to them? Why?"

Her voice was getting shrilly and it was annoying Dally..He whipped his head and stared her down. "Cause they never wanted him. Johnny wouldn't want me talkin' about him, cause you're Soc and might spread rumors and shit that ain't true. Now mind yer own business you brat."

Ali didn't back down. She had to know. She had to.

"And what do you guys do? Do you try to help him? Why can't he just leave?" She asked, her voice coming out in a pleading manner. "Can't he tell anyone?"

"Hey, hey!" Dally snapped. "Don't go on askin' me all these pointless questions! Can't ya figure it out? Huh? Aren't you in some of those advanced classes? Ask Johnny if you really want to know, but if you do, he might hate you. He don't like feeling or letting anyone know he's vulnerable or weak."

She gulped and tightened her fists. "Do you know of anyone else that gets hit by their families?"

Dally blew out a smoke, thinking for a moment before he answered. "Yeah actually, seen plenty of them. Most guys get beat up. The Shepherds do get beat up my their old man a lot. Dunno 'bout the girls though. They might. I bet my life on it. Everyone is living through hell here."

She let a tear slip, but not even she realized that it had fallen. It was too dark for Dally to notice either. With all that practice that she did, her voice didn't falter. "Do you think Socs get beat up too?"

Dally laughed out loud as if he had heard the funniest joke of all time. But his laugh was empty. "Socs? Man, I'll be damned if they're parents even said no to them! They got everything!"

Ali just stared at him and clenched her fists. With a soft voice she said, "I'm going home."

Dally chuckled. "I'll tell Johnny you were tired okay? Or better yet, I'll tell him you didn't want to be seen with a greaser!"

She spun around. "You tell him that and I'll hate you for the rest of my life!"

Dally laughed again. "Oh boy! Look at me! I'm so scared!"

His laughed diminished as he watched Ali skimper away. "Damn. Doesn't that broad know better than to walk alone in greaser territory at night?"

"Where did Ali go?" Johnny asked as he came out with two pepsi's in his hand. He had a concerned and worried look on his face. I knew I shouldn't have left them alone . . . what if Dally did something?

"Why'd you only buy two?" Dally asked as he lit up another cigarette. He hadn't answered Johnny's question, and because of this he grew more concerned.

"One was for Ali and you. I wasn't going to drink one." He said and looked down. "So why did she go?"

Dally shrugged, "She said somethin' about . . ." He looked and saw Johnny with his pleading eyes. And Dally sighed. There was no way, he was going to hurt Johnny. "Her folks wanted her home, about a family reunion or some stupid shit like that."

Johnny eyed him and handed him a coke. "You didn't do anything . . . right?"

Dally narrowed his eyes, but didn't look at Johnny. He popped open the Pepsi, and instead of getting angry, he laughed. "Man, what is it with people these days? Thinkin' imma goin' to jump anyone. Johnny don't worry, I promise I didn't do nothin'."

Johnny nodded and opened his own can. They sipped it quietly and looked at the street. It was empty, just like they felt sometimes.

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON ALI)**

Ali had gone home to find that her father had gone a business trip for the remainder of the week. She had silently gone up to her room, ignoring Bob and her mom's confused stares. It didn't matter that her father was gone. It was only a one week break for her. But she didn't think about her father. She could only think about Johnny.

 _Why didn't he say anything?Was he scared? Like I would've been if someone had found out? And why did Dally shrug? Did he not care? He acted like he didn't care. Maybe he is that jerk and heartless person everyone talks about. I just don't get why Johnny kept talking about him; saying that he was tuff and all that other junk ._ . .

And with all these jumbled up thoughts in her head, she laid down in bed and stared up at her ceiling.

"Hey doll!" Two-Bit said excitedly, as he skipped over to where Ali was unpacking her things. He was excited because he felt proud of himself. He hadn't done work ever since he was like . . . a baby, and working with Ali -even if it just was handing her the supplies and giving her useless tips- he felt accomplished. It was a nice feeling for Two-Bit.

Other Socs looked up, giving, shooting weird looks and even stepped away as Two-Bit came closer to where Ali was putting her stuff away. Some male Socs eyed two-Bit, but didn't do anything. As soon as Ali heard Two-Bit's enthusiastic voice, she looked up but didn't say anything. Two-Bit laughed because he thought that for some reason, she was made at him. He didn't know that Ali was worried. She was worried, scared and, well, guilty.

"Two-Bit," Ali said in a quiet voice, and glanced around the hall. "I need to talk with you."

Two-Bit smiled. "Have you finally realized your love for Dally?"

Her eyebrows knit in a confused look. "What? No- Two-Bit, it's serious."

Two-Bit feigned a heart attack and batted his eyes, in a manner that almost made Ali laugh. But she couldn't, because if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop. She was too nervous.

"Love is serious! You can't keep your feelings to yourself! You need to let them go. It isn't good to keep all of them bottled up inside of you."

"Two-Bit come on!" Ali looked around and some some girls staring at her. "I think we should move away."

Two-Bit whirled around. "You mean, as away from the cute girls over there? No way sista I'm staying here."

He smiled widely again and wiggled his eyebrows at the other girls. Ali could feel her cheeks heat up as they stared daggers at her and rolled their eyes at Two-Bit. Ali grabbed Two-Bit by the arm and dragged him away. She could hear the whispers that the other girls were saying. She could feel their stares, making holes in her back.

When they were finally away she sighed. "Two-Bit." -he was looking away and waving at some other girls. "Keith!" -Two-BIt whirled around. "Pay attention!"

"Geez. What is it? It better important cause those pretty broads over there were eyeing me."

"Two-Bit, I was with Johnny yesterday, after we finished. And um, we talked and talked."

Two-Bit raised an eyebrow. "And? What's the important part of the story?"

"We went out to buy some stuff and Dally showed up-"

"-You mean the love of your life?!"

"No. Anyways, Johnny went to buy us a drink and we started talking-"

"Did it get heated? Dally likes to sweet talk the girls, or sometimes he likes to talk dirt-"

"Kieth! Let me explain please!" Ali said and closed her eyes. _If this continues, I won't be able to talk to him. If the bell rings I . . . I could talk to him at lunch . . . or in the same class we have, but that will attract to much attention. And I need to talk to him now._

"Okay," he sighed. "But really, don't call me that ever again." He said and crossed his hands over his chest, as if he was pissed. I should the be the one who is pissed, Ali thought. He isn't letting me speak.

"Did you know Johnny was abused by his folks? Is it true?" Ali asked in a rushed and hushed voice. She looked around and was glad to find that no one was nearby. She looked back at Two-Bit who had frozen. Immediately his smile faded. It was replaced by a worried look. And a how-could-you-have-possibly-found-out-this-was-like-a-secret look. "How did you find out? Who told you? Oh no, was it Dally? I'm beat him up. I ain't afraid of him. He disrespected Johnny's-"

"Well he didn't do it on purpose. It kind of slipped out," Ali said and moved her hands.

Two-Bit gulped and keep stealing glances around the hall. "Yeah his parents didn't want him. They're deadbeats. They abuse him daily." He stopped and took a deep breath. "Just . . . just don't ask Johnny okay? You two are becomin' real close and if he wants to tell you himself, it'll be in his own time okay?"

Ali nodded. "Okay, okay."

Boy, she felt horrible now. She felt bad for actually feeling a bit of relief. _I shouldn't be feeling this, she thought as she went to her first class. I should feel bad for him, pity. Not relief!_

But indeed she felt relieved and if anyone knew, she couldn't' deny it.

She wasn't the only one being hurt by her parents and it made Ali feel closer to Johnny in some way. Made her feel that someone understood.

Now, if only she had the courage to tell someone.

Ali was exiting her sixth period class to go to lunch, when Clara Whittmore appeared and got all up in her face. Clara was trouble. She was one of those snobby and slutty girls that always got what she wanted. Ali didn't like her - a lot of people didn't like her.

"So, I saw you talking with a greaser," she spat and popped her gum. Her two other friends stood behind her, giving Ali some death stares. Ali gulped and readjusted her skirt. "What was that all about huh Alison? You going all poor on us?"

Ali fumed and felt her cheeks heat up from how frustrated she was. She had always hated Clara's ignorant and slutty attitude. "No I wasn't. I asked him a question, and he politely answered back."

She snorted and looked Ali up and down, as if she was disapproving her outfit, she probably was, but Ali didn't care. "Yeah, anyways. I heard that you and that greaser were working on a project in weird woman's class. Wanna tell me what that's about? You dating a dirty greaser? Why are you even talking to him?"

Ali gritted her teeth in annoyance. "No there was no one else to pair up with, and we got paired up together I was just talking to him about our project. It's not like it matters.." Ali hoped Clara couldn't read a person well. She hoped that she couldn't tell a lie from a truth.. She was feeling a little guilty she had lied. "And what's it to you anyways? It had nothing to do with you."

Clara laughed, before she abruptly stopped and rolled her eyes. "I don't care. I just need to find a good reason to ruin your reputation." Her eyes lit up all of a sudden. "Does Bob know about this? Oh if he finds you hanging out with a greaser, he will end both of you."

"Yes he is clearly aware, and we were only talking." Ali said stiffly and looked past Ali to see Two-Bit rounding a corner before he disappeared .She was frozen for only a moment before she regain her composure. Her heart was beating fast. Why is Clara even here? Unfortunately Ali's luck wasn't the best, and she thought TWo-Bit had left, but when he peeked his head around the corner she knew it was not going to go well. Ali thought Two-Bit was only fooling around, but when he smiled and casually making his way over, she knew she was doomed.

 _Oh no,_ she thought _. This isn't going to end well. Oh god help us all._

"Ali? Is that you?" Two-Bit said loudly, knowing that she hadn't wanted him here. All the girls spun around, looking a little surprised. But when they saw who it was, they relaxed. It's only a stupid greaser, they thought. Clara gave an annoyed groan. Her blonde and brunette friend took a step back.

"Oh great, we have two morons now."

He smiled but in a sarcastic, sad voice he said,. "Oh honey, don't put you and your friend down like that." He looked at the the blond girl standing next to her friends. "I can't say the same about this one. She looks smart."

He winked at her and loudly whispered, "if you haven't noticed, I dig blondes."

She turned away and looked down. Ali felt bad for her, but not bad enough because she wanted to laugh so hard and make fun of them. She resisted, and with a straight face, looked at Two-Bit disapprovingly.

Clara spoke up and popped her gum again, "What are you even doing here greaser. Mind your own business. Can't you see we're busy here? Or are you blind too?"

"No Soc, you're the blind one." Two-Bit got all serious all of a sudden, and stood up straight. He saluted to Ali. "I'm sorry ma'am, I got clear instructions from the president to accompany Ali everywhere she goes." He was trying not to laugh. "I'm her personal bodyguard or somethin' like that."

Clara just stared at him, before she scoffed. "Um yeah, bye losers."

Her and her little possy walked away. And Two-Bit spoke up. "So since when have they've been boethin' ya?"

"Oh them? It's normal-"

"Them botherin' you is normal? Ali, that is some weird crap you're talkin' about right there. Being picked on isn't normal."

 _And neither is lying, but we all keep secrets to ourselves_ , Ali thought sadly. "It started in seventh grade. We used to be good friends. I-I don't know what happened."

Two-Bit pat her shoulder and he saw Ali jump back. He gave her a worried look, but continued on what he was about to say. "If they give you a hard time, you tell me about it and I'll go an' give them a lesson okay? You don't need to be bothered by a group of sluts."

She nodded and played looked at her nails. "Thanks."

They began to walk towards the cafeteria, but before they could part ways Ali asked, "So, did you actually like that blonde? Or where you calling them sluts because you were trying to cheer me up?"

He laughed. "Oh they are sluts, but that blonde," -he whistled- "Man, I haven't seen a good lookin' broad like her in days.

* * *

 **OOPs Is this chapter a little short? Hahaha, I hoped you liked that Dally and ALi moment, and that Two-Bit and Ali bonding!**

 **GUYS I GOT MY ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD! I just got home and decided to finish this because of the spurge of motivation I had. Oh, and heels hurt like so much, I was only in them for an hour. I don't know how my mom or anyone else wears them almost all day. Well anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Omg, you guys have no idea how much I really wanted to write this chapter. But the thing was I got too lazy. I mean for me, it's summer vacation and the days are zipping by. Well anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON ALI)**

Ali had just come back from her science class, her eighth period class and was putting her books away when she was interrupted. Again, by a familiar, happy enthusiastic voice she had learned only belonged to one person in the whole world.

Two-Bit.

Ali decided not to turn, to ignore him for a second because she wanted to see how Two-Bit would react.

"Hey Ali," Two-Bit said and poked her in the back. She moved away. "Hey Ali?"

He poked her again, and she moved. "Heeyyy ALLLIII?"

She sighed, deciding quickly that it was a bad idea to keep him waiting. "Two-Bit, next time don't poke me."

"What else am I going to do if you don't pay attention me?"

"You could not poke me, that's what." She said with a little bit of sass.

"Anyways doll. The real reason I'm here is to tell you that you are being kidnapped." Two-Bit began, leaning against a wall, then he laughed. "Just kiddin'. We were wonderin' if you'd like to join us for dinner or a quick snack or something over at the Dingo."

Ali slowly turned around from her locker. "We? Who's we?"

Two-Bit smiled. "You know, the guys, our gang. Well maybe not Steve or Dally. Maybe Soda, but especially Johnny. And Pony." He grabbed Ali's books. "You can even bring a friend if you want. I would recommend your redhead friend." He leaned in and his voice got quiet. "I think Pony's got the hots for her. I mean I don't think I've ever seen him blush that much."

Ali laughed and swiped her books out of Two-Bit's grasp."I don't know . . . What's in it for me?"

Two-Bit looked around carefully. "I dunno, maybe we can get you a large hamburger. But it will be at a price." He crossed his arms and puffed his chest. "Not to mention a boyfriend too." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I see that you still haven't confessed your love for Dally yet."

She shook her head. "I'm not in love with him. I don't even _like_ him."

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that." He said under his breath. Then he paused. "So, you in?"

Ali closed her locker. "Yeah I guess. I mean my parent's won't mind."

He raised an eyebrow. "Your parents won't mind that _you_ hang out with a bunch of dangerous greasers like us? What- are you outta yer mind?" He laughed.

"I wouldn't say _dangerous_." She crossed her arms. "Besides, the only thing my parents know, is that I'm hanging out with friends. That's it."

Two-Bit laughed out loud. "Man, I didn't know you could lie that easily. Especially to your ma and pa. You kiss them with that mouth?"

He cracked up at his own joke. And Ali couldn't help but laugh at Two-Bit's snarky humor too. But even to her, her voice sounded forced. _I lie all the time,_ she thought sadly. _Not only to my mom or father, but to everyone. Even my friends._ She started to walk slowly along side Two-Bit. _I lie, even to myself._

Then all of a sudden Two-BIt grabbed her wrist and started to pull her along. "Come on, we can skip gym, like we always do. Those damn gym teachers don't even count for attendance."

She rolled her eyes. "I know, but we kind of have to do it quietly and carefully."

"I can be quiet when I want to."

"Nope, not even to save your life."

"Yep, you're right. When did you learn this?" Two-Bit asked suspiciously and let go of Ali's wrist.

"Everyone knows this Two-Bit. You got quite the reputation."

He smiled. "Yeah I have a reputation. But you know who else does?"

"What?" she asked.

"Dally." He winked.

And Ali closed her eyes and sighed. "I bet he has a pretty bad one too."

"You know it girl."

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON JOHNNY)**

Johnny was fidgeting with his straw; bending it and twisting it here and there, until he decided to speak up. "Pony, what happens if they don't come? I mean I won't mind, but Tim's gang is over there. What happens if they get some ideas and they come to bother us? And the girls?"

Pony looked up from his book. "Don't worry about them. They'll come soon." He said calmly, and looked back down. He flipped another page and breathed out.

Johnny frowned and whispered, "Pony didn'tcha hear me? I said I'm worried about Tim's gang over there."

Pony looked up again. "Sorry Johnny, I was too into this book. It's really good. I would recommend it to you when I'm done reading it. " He put a bookmark on one of these pages and closed the book. "What were you saying?"

Johnny sighed and raised his finger, low enough for them not to notice. "Tim's gang," he whispered.

Pony slowly turned and caught sight of Tim and his gang. His face immediately paled. "Oh no . . . "

Tim's gang was already causing trouble, even though it was pretty early and school had just let out. Tim's gang was whistling and making comments about the waiters, in loud voices that made all the other customer's turn red and shuffle uncomfortably in their seats.

Tim, on the other hand, wasn't causing too much trouble. He was just smoking a cigarette right next to a sign that said 'no smoking.' He was looking around, trying to see if he could find some action right inside the store.

The Dingo, was filled with greasers, because after all, it _was_ a greaser hangout. Johnny was nervous. He was looking around the store and was seeing all of its mistakes. There were too many greasers -not all of them good- and the place reeked of smokes, and it was stuffy. And the floors were too dirty -what would happen if one of the girls slipped? Johnny was getting frantic, but Pony on the other hand, well Pony was just being Pony. He was as oblivious as ever, and if he was nervous, he was hiding it well.

Just then, the front door opened and everyone stopped talking. All of their attention was focused on the three people that stood by the door.

Pony stood up, attracting most of the attention to their table. "Hey guys! Over here!"

Johnny leaned his head against the table and listened to the vibrations. He was too embarrassed to look up. He was too embarrassed to see everyone looking at them.

When he looked up, he saw Ali and Cherry and, well he could hear Two-Bit from far away. Ponyboy was beaming. "Hi guys. How've ya been?"

Cherry sat down in the booth. "All's been well."

Ali sat down next to Johnny, who scooched over a bit. "How have _you_ been Johnny?"

"Pretty good," he said. Johnny rubbed his arm.

Two-Bit came bouncing back. "Man, do those blondes over there have some stories to tell. Sorry boys," he looked at the Cherry and Ali, "and ladies, I have somewhere to be. Catch y'all later."

Tim was whistling. His eyes had caught sight of the girls, and they could feel his eyes on them. But they didn't say anything.

They all waited for a while, some awkward silence between all of them, even though the store was full of noise. The waiter didn't even ask them their order. She just quickly brought them water -her eyes catching a glimpse of Tim's gang by the corner- and she went to the back. _The back_ , where she didn't come back out.

"Um, we're going to get you some other drinks okay? The waiters are a bit busy." Johnny said quietly.

Ali nodded. "Thank you boys, we really don't want to . . . stand up and go ask ourselves." She looked over at Tim. Then she turned to look at the rest of the people or greasers that "If you know what I mean. Oh, and Pepsi would be just fine."

Both younger boys knew that trouble was about to come their way.

Tim smirked at Johnny and Pony. "Why hello there boys, I didn't know you got yourself some good lookin' broads." He glanced over at Cherry and Ali again. "Especially Socy broads."

Johnny looked at Pony worriedly. "Yeah, uh well they're here with us." He said quietly.

Tim licked his lips and shot a smile at his boys behind him. "Now are they?"

Johnny fidgeted with his fingers. "Uh yeah . . . "

Pony spoke up. "Yep, they're here with us. And they're here to have a fun us."

Tim stood up and Pony squinted at him. "Jesus, don't worry kid. I'm only gonna go over an' say hello."

Johnny and Pony were no match for a big greaser like Tim.

"At least we tried." Johnny whispered, but Pony watched the scene unfold right before their eyes. It started off bad, and got worse.

Offensive words, and dirty ones too, were hurled into their ears. Ali's ears were red and she knew her face was red too. She was embarrassed. Cherry, on the other hand seemed mad. If she was nervous or scared, she wasn't showing it. And for the first time, Ali was glad for Cherry's tough behavior.

"Beat it hood," she said roughly and crossed her arms. "We don't want no trouble. So leave us alone."

Tim laughed, but it was a hollow one. "I ain't causin' no trouble redhead, just tryin' to have a little fun." He moved closer to Ali. "Right doll? I'm only complimenting y'alls. Can't you take a compliment?"

"Of course we can take a compliment, but we don't want to hear any of yours coming out of your mouth."

Johnny could feel how proud Pony was when he heard Cherry stand up to Tim like that, all that was short lived.

Tim scowled. "All you bitches are just the same. You want compliments, but when you get 'em, you get all defensive and don't take them at all."

"Yeah well you need to learn which are compliments and which are just plain rude comments." Cherry snapped back. "Or do you not understand the difference between the two? Did you drop out of school halfway through kindergarten?"

Everything and everyone got silent. Then it erupted into howls of laughter and 'Oohhs' and 'ahhss!'

Tim's face shifter from a careless person to one who wanted to kill. His smile was dark. "Oh, a feisty one. I already like you more than your friend over here." He pointed at Ali.

He got started to say other offensive words, and all four - Ponyboy, Johnny, Cherry and Ali, well, they didn't know that one could ever blush that much.

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON DALLY)**

Dally had been walking around town. He hadn't found anybody at the Curtis' house, and assumed that Darry had gone to work, Steve and Soda were still working, that Two-Bit was probably off getting drunk, and the rest had gone out. Probably to watch a movie or something.

Dally was bored. And when Dally was bored, that meant trouble was would be able to see if from a mile away. The way he paced around and smoked a pack of cigarettes like a chimney. The way he just sometimes seemed to stop doing whatever he wanted and proceeded to punch something randomly.

Dally was hungry too, so he decided to go to the Dingo. Because the Dingo was where the best hamburgers were served, but he wasn't in the mood for a hamburger. He was hoping that he would find someone and steal a few fries from them. He didn't feel like paying.

The aura in the store, was thick with rivalry and tension. Loud noises like hooting and cheering and cursing, racketed through the small restaurant. Dally even heard the cheering from outside, and once he heard it, he knew something good was happening.

No one seemed to notice that the door had opened and in stepped Dally. Who would notice? All the attention was focused on four people.

But Dally was and had been expecting a fight or some broad standing up to her boyfriend or something. Instead he saw what was going on almost immediately. He saw how angry Pony seemed. He saw the way that Tim was eyeing those girls and smirking at them. He saw that Johnny was throwing worried glances at the girls too.

And he saw Ali, who seemed frightened to death. Her eyes wide as Tim got closer and closer and closer, until he was sitting right next to her. He saw Cherry, how her mouth twisting as she hissed something at Tim -who only laughed and and got even closer to Ali.

He turned around, and glanced over at Tim's car that was parked out in the parking space.

He looked over at Tim again, and saw that he was coming closer to the girls. His mouth moving, probably saying something bad. He saw the red faces of the Johnny and Ponyboy, and how they were also trying to talk, only to be shushed abruptly by Tim. He looked around and found Tim's boys, who were cheering and hooting.

He saw Ali and Cherry again. And he looked back at Tim's car.

He smirked at himself. _I have nothin' better to do,_ he thought. _I might as well._

Dally closed the door as softly as he could and walked right up to Tim's car. He slipped out his knife and looked around, trying to act as nonchalantly as possible.

He swiftly slashed Tim's tires. But because he was such a good guy, he left one in perfect condition. If you minus the scratches he decided to do first, it was still looking as good as new.

He came back in swiftly, smiling like there was no tomorrow

Pony was red. His cheeks were flushed, he looked as if he was about to explode. Dally decided to take some action then. He wouldn't like it if Darry had to pay for Ponyboy at the hospital for fainting. And he would like it less if Darry had found out that Dally could have stopped it all from happening.

"Hey, didn'tcha hear that kid? He said leave 'em alone." Dally called out and rolled his eyes.

Tim shushed everyone around him, and smiled, before he chuckled. "Hey Dally, didn't see ya there. I was just talking to theses lovely ladies." He motioned over at Ali and Cherry. Their faces were tainted pink

The whole place quieted down, waiting for something to go down. They all knew something was about to go down, after all Dallas Winston and Tim Shepard don't usually talk to each other without a fight breaking out or someone almost dying or getting sent to the hospital.

"It seems like they don't want ya there." Dally said and leaned against the wall. He winked. "Hey broads. Me or him? Choose. But lemme in you on a little secret, lemme just say I'm way better than him." He winked again and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Pony and Johnny still had red faces. But now they were glaring at him. He shut up.

When none of them said anything, Tim sat down right next to Ali, who Dally saw her tense up. He saw the way she was fumbling with her napkin. He saw that she was giving pleading eyes to Cherry who was right in front of her.

Ponyboy swallowed shakily. "Leave them alone will ya?"

"Who's gonna make me?" Tim said cheerfully, but his eyes told a different story.

Ponyboy took a step back, and hopelessly glanced the girls -an apologetic look on his face.

Dally yawned. "Hey Tim, let's go somewhere. These guys are on a date. Leave their broads alone."

Tim leaned back and slammed his legs on the table. He saw Ali flinch violently. She was looking down.

"I didn't know you were getting soft."

Dally smiled too. "Man, leave the kids alone. Johnny and Pony are my friends. They ain't askin' for trouble."

Tim's smile faded. "Yeah, well tell your friends that I only wanted to have some fun with these broads here." He wrapped an arm around Ali, and she froze. "We weren't causin' no trouble. RIght doll? Besides, what're they doin' here?"

Dally started to light a cigarette. "Yeah fun. Well anyways Shepard, I came here to fight you. I thought you would've found out pretty quickly, but I guess you are as dumb as I think you are. I slashed your tires again." Dally sing songed.

Tim let go of Ali and pushed her aside. She moved all the way to the window, a shocked look on her face. His eyes narrowed."What do ya mean, slashed my tires Winston?" Then he chuckled. "Ya tryin' to fool me? I parked her right outside, her tires were as good as new."

Dally shrugged. "Yeah, that was before I got here."

Tim stood up and looked at his boys. "I don't believe this shit." He spat angrily. "Winston if you slashed my brand new tires, I swear, you'll be beaten to a pulp. I swear on almighty god, Winston, you would wish you were dead."

"You can kill me," Dally huffed out a fume of smoke and smirked. "That is, if you catch me."

Tim's eyes widened, he glanced over at his boys who were nodding 'yes'.

And all hell broke loose.

Chairs went flying, switchblades were out, hooting, screaming, cheering, and one happy Dallas Winston in the middle of it all. He went looking for trouble, and he had gotten it.

Tim ran over to the window and spotted his car. His face turned about one hundred shades of red. "Dammit Winston! What they fuckin' hell?! Those were brand new tires! Got 'em yesterday!" He whirled around. "You're gonna pay for this!"

Dally winked at the waitresses who were all standing behind the counter, trying not to show that they were scared. "Well ladies, looks like this is going to be one hell of a chase."

He dropped his recently lit cigarette, stomped it under his feet and grabbed a napkin dispenser. He then proceeded in launching it at Tim's face.

"What the fuck?" Tim yelled. He took a step back and clutched his bleeding nose. "WINSTON!"

Dally smiled at Johnny who was frightened for Dally's safety. "Enjoy yourself Johnny." He said calmly.

He then proceed and quickly sprinted out the of the Dingo with four, trying-not-to-laugh gang members on Tim's gang and a fuming Tim Shepard.

 ***TIME SKIP***

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON ALI)**

"Did you know that Dallas Winston almost got beaten into a coma?" Cherry asked as she twirled around with her hair. "I mean, his face was all black and blue from what I hear. He got away with a few broken ribs."

"You don't say," Ali sighed deeply, trying to ignore the pain in her ribs. "He was asking for it."

Cherry sat up. "Ali, I gotta tell you something." She looked around, but there was no one there. "It includes Bob."

Ali sat up too. "Is Bob being an asshole again? You know that I know that I'm his sister, but he can be a real dick, You should just dump him. I wouldn't mind, it would teach him not to mess with someone ass tuff as you."

Cherry smiled lightheartedly. "Yeah it's about Bob . . . I think I'm going to dump him . . . "

"Give me all the reasons and I might just add a little more."

Cherry bit her lip. "But the thing is . . . one reason I want to dump him is because of Ponyboy."

Ali's eyes widened. "Ponyboy? What about him? Oh Cherry, first you have to break up with Bob or else he'll go after Pony, even if you just glance at him."

Cherry swallowed. "You know back there, when we went to the Dingo? Those boys -Pony and Johnny, they were trying to defend us."

"It was cute, but I was scared. I mean he was sitting right next to me. He was even breathing on me. Tim smelled like death and rotten fish."

Silence consumed the car hood where they sat on, looking up at the trees.

"I wouldn't know why Dally would suddenly slash Tim's tires all of a sudden, and tell him right in front of his gang." Cherry said. "I mean it almost seems like he did it to help us, because Tim wasn't leaving us alone." She laughed. "That's silly and completely absurd, I don't know why I even thought of that. Dallas Winston doesn't care about anyone. Much less two annoying Socs rights?"

"Yeah, I don't know where you even got that idea from. Dally hates my guts."

Cherry sat up straighter., before she slumped down."Do you know that shy boy Johnny? Well I heard from Pony that his parents beat him."

Ali's smile faded. "Yeah, I heard. But don't even bring it up. I heard it from Dallas Winston himself - while he was screaming at me- that if I bring it up, Johnny will hate me."

Cherry frowned. "He won't hate you. Why you're as sweet as pie. He might be embarrassed because someone as good as you are hanging out with someone as broken as him."

This time is was Ali's turn to laugh, but again it was a hollow one. "Me? Good? I know you know that we've done some stuff we aren't proud of in the past."

"Yes I know, but we're not as bad as the other hoods out there right?"

"Nope," Ali yawned. "But we aren't angels either."

 ***THE NEXT DAY***

Ali couldn't help but wonder about Johnny. She was lying in bed, around four in the morning when she had woken up with these thoughts.

She felt different around him. Not relaxed but not stressed. SHe pleaded to god -who she wasn't sure really existed anymore- that she hadn't fallen or started to like him. _NO,_ she thought. _I can't fall in love with someone. Especially a guy. My dad is a guy and he hurts you remember? Johnny is a guy who gets hurt. So what happens if you get together? He might hurt you because of his past. And you won't be able to stop, because you'll be in love with him._

These thoughts were jumbling all up in her head. _No, Johnny's a good guy. He's shy and loving. If I get with him, he won't hurt me._

 **[A/N: DUN DUN DUN NOW PRESENTING (A PROBabLY LONG AWAITED) JOHNNY'S POV!]**

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON ALI)**

Johnny didn't know what to think when he saw Tim Shepard bad mouthing off offensive words to the girls. And when he saw Ali tense up as Tim Shepard wrap around his arm over Ali's shoulder -now that was when he wanted to punch him in the face. But Johnny knew that he would be no match for a huge, 100 times stronger, two times taller Tim Shepard.

He was just glad when Dally came in, even if he had tried to flirt with the girls.

Ponyboy and Johnny were sitting down on their couch watching tv. "Pony, what do you think about Ali and Cherry?"

Pony turned to look at him. "They're nice for Socs. And they even agreed for us to take them out for lunch. But Cherry . . . she used to ignore me. At least Ali's trusted you from the start."

Johnny bit his lip. "Do you think that Ali will hate me if she finds out where my bruises really come from."

Ponyboy shook his head. "Of course not! Remember the first time I met you? I didn't hate you, no. I wanted to help you even. Maybe she would want to help you too."

Johnny looked down. "But what if she looks down on me? I mean, she is a Soc after all."

Both of them stayed quiet after that.

* * *

 **Dally: *walks into room while Angela is typing***

 **Dally: *smirks and sneaks up behind writer***

 **Dally: *takes a deep breath* YO ANGIE WHAT'RE yA DOIN'**

 **Me: *SCREAMS THINKING IT'S MY DAD and SLAMS COMPuteR SHUT SO FAST THE SCREEN ALMOST CRACKS***

 **Me: POR LA PUTA MADRE YO NO ESTOY HACIENDO NADA!**

 **Dally: What the fuck? I don't understand this Mexican shit, speak english you fuck up.**

 **Me: Don't you get it? I'm already under stress because I started this chapter today, and people really want to read it and I CAN'T STOP STRESSING ABOUT IT BECAUSE I HAVE REALLY GOOD IDEAS BUT I'M TOO LAZY TO TYPE IT ALL UP**

 **Dally: *shruggs* I wouldn't care less. Now get typin', cause I see a mob of angry readers tryin' not to kill ya because you procrastinated. Again.**

 **Me: okay okayokay**

 **Dally: You're wastin' time breathin'. My grandma can type faster, and she's dead and she wouldn't know how to type cause she didn't even have a typewriter!**

 **Me: *yanks hair out***

* * *

 **YEaa BOII. I think I really like how this turned out. I'm pretty open to ideas. And sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Remember, reviews help! ;) And yes, my name is Angela. My account name is Diane279, where did I get that name? Well I really wanted my name to be that when I joined. Well then, until next time, TOODLES!**

 **P.S now that I'm looking at this I feel that it's . . . short? HElp?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello peeps, it's me here Angela. Well anyways, another chapter for On A Broken Wing . . .**

 **Dally: Well whaddaya waitin' for? Start!**

 **A/N: *stares at the screen* Well . . . that's the thing . . . I don't know how to start it . . .**

 **Dally: *rolls his eyes* Then just read some more stories and get inspiration!**

 **A/N: It's not as easy as it sounds or looks.**

 **Dally: Write about how I scare Ali so bad, she gets away from Johnny once and for all.**

 **A/N: *thinking* OOooohh! Maybe I can start writing about how you and Ali start to get clos-**

 **Dally: Shut up. You know what? Just keep staring at the screen.**

 **A/N: Perfect. Thanks Dally! I'll write that!**

 **Dally: Well fuck.**

* * *

 **THIRD POV:**

 **(FOCUSED ON ALI)**

Ali was in the middle of opening the door when it swung open and almost caught her in the face. Literally, at the last second she jumped back fearing that it was her father.

And who would you guess it was? It was Bob, and he looked pissed. _I bet he lost that bet he kept bragging about,_ thought Ali. _Serves him right for trying to cheat._

Ali just stood by the door and tried to catch her breath from the scare that she had just had. Bob, looked around the house and spotted Ali. He didn't smile or hug her or ask her how her day had gone so far. Instead he walked passed her and merely talked to her.

"Hey Ali," he mumbled as he headed to the kitchen. He turned around and saw that she was wearing nice clothes. "Where are you going?"

Ali swallowed. "Um, I was just going to walk over to Cherry's house."

Bob opened the fridge. "And where are you going after that?"

Ali eyed the door again and turned the knob. "I don't know. Maybe the DX."

Bob spun around. "Isn't that where the greasers hang out?"

Ali turned the knob a little more. "Yep. But we're not going to stay there long. Cherry just needs to talk to someone there."

Bob squinted at her and pulled out a beer from the fridge. "Yeah, it doesn't really matter. That place is garbage, the greasers _are_ garbage. So, do you know what time you'll be back?"

Ali stopped turning the doorknob and walked right up to Bob. "What's your problem with the greasers huh? It's getting real annoying. You bring them up over everything, I don't even know why you brought uo how horrible they were."

Bob took another drink and rolled his eyes. "You need to calm down. Jesus. They're garbage and you know it."

Ali glared at him, a hand on her hip. "Why do you think they're so low? Is that the reason why you tried to kill those two boys in the fountain last week?"

Bob sighed loudly and took another sip. "Are you still thinking about that day? I was drunk. I wasn't going to actually kill them. Maybe just to scare them off a little. Besides, the boys and I were just looking for some fun."

Ali scoffed, irritation was sucking away her once good mood. "Yeah right. You know for some reason, I don't believe guys went drinking."

Bob narrowed his eyes. " _Excuse_ me? I wouldn't kill someone on purpose."

"Knowing you," she paused and looked him up and down. "I wouldn't be so sure."

Bob stared at her as she grabbed the door and walked out. "ALI!" He called out, but she slammed the door shut in his face.

Ali was halfway down the block when she heard the thuds of footsteps. She turned around and saw that it was Bob. "ALI! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" He yelled.

Once Ali took one good look at his face and heard his pissed off voice, she turned around and ran.

"ALI! COME BACK HERE!" Bob yelled again, but she kept running.

There was no way Ali was going back home with Bob in his pissed off mood. She knew what he was capable of, and she didn't want to stay behind to find out any new ways how to express his anger. And there was no way Ali could just run to Cherry's house, ringing the doorbell five times in a span of three seconds.

 _Holy moly, guacamole, I think I'm going to spend the night at Cherry's,_ Ali thought. _Or maybe the week._

She honestly didn't knew where to go, because when she had passed Cherry's house, her car had been gone. So that meant Cherry had gone out.

Ali was running out of breath when she saw the DX come into view a few blocks in front of her.

There was a red light, but she still whipped her head left and right to check for cars.

She still heard Bob's breathless yells somewhat steadily behind her. "Ali! Wait till dad hears what you said!"

If she could, Ali would have visibly shivered, yet even as she gasped for breath she could feel her body tense up. She kept running, and running, until Bob stopped trying to catch her.

"WHEN YOU GET HOME, YOU'LL REALLY GET IT FROM DAD!"

Ali started to sing and hum loudly to block out the thoughts of what her dad might to do her. Her legs felt like jello, but she kept running, and running until she burst through the front door of the DX and collapsed onto the ground.

 _Bob won't get me in here,_ she thought. _He's too much of a scaredy cat to have the guts to come into an area where greasers roam._

Ali opened her bag, and took out her bag of wipes and cleaned her face. She had been breathing in loudly when a voice made her jump.

"So Soc, what brings ya here?"

She didn't even need to look up to know whose voice it was. She knew it by heart. Ali stood up, with her hands on her knees and sighed loudly. "Why is it that when I go here alone, you're always here?"

"How would I know? Why is it that when I'm just tryin' to mind my own business, you appear outta nowhere and fuck everythin' up for me?"

Ali sighed again. "So . . . Dally . . . is Cherry here? And Soda?"

Dally rolled his eyes and propped his elbow on the counter. "The redhead? Is Cherry her name? Well anyways, yeah she's in the back with Pony and Soda."

Ali nodded and readjusted her purse. "Okay. Um, thanks."

Dally was leaning so much that he was basically laying his head against the counter. "So," he began in a bored voice. "You wanna tell me why ya came runnin' in here like a bat out of hell? Was it one of Shepard's gang?"

Ali looked around the room. "Um, no. It's for any reason you think of. I was just . . . running . . . "

Dally raised an eyebrow and cracked a rare grin. " _You_? _Runnin'_? Hey come on now . . . Ali, ya might wanna brush up on you're lying'."

Ali swallowed. _Wow Ali. 10 out of 10. You actually might NOT want to act so suspicious. And while you're at it, why don't you just tell Dally you're being beat up?_ She coughed all of a sudden. "Actually I ran in here because one of those greasers started to say foul words and I didn't want no trouble."

Dally's grin faded, but his eyebrow was still growing strong. "Ah shoot Ali, I don't want to bring you down, but I didn't seen anyone out there but you-" He paused and stood up. "And another Soc. Brush up on your lying, you don't do it very well."

Ali waved him off. "Yeah yeah yeah. Um, It was my brother. He was chasing me because he wanted some money, but I wouldn't give it to him."

She hoped Dally bought her lie, because how would she be able to explain that she had defend the greaser's name and accidentally started a war with her brother?

Ali looked at Dally and saw his wheels turning. If he knew what was going on, he didn't let it show.

He shrugged, "Okay. Whatever you say." He turned around. "Well anyways, you can go on now. Cherry will be right out. So scram ya twig."

Ali didn't have to be told twice. She practically sprinted outside and went to the back where Cherry was -in the garage- with the boys. She found it especially strange and creepy that Dally hadn't given her death glares and started to randomly single her out for being a Soc. He was still a bit rude with his tone of voice and with his attitude, but he hadn't insulted her. And _that_ , was scary.

When Ali arrived at the back, she was met by Two-Bit's loud, rambunctious laughter.

And when he spotted her, he happily skipped to her. "Hey Ali, have you finished the project yet?"

Ali grew confused. "What project?"

He laughed again. "Yeah good one Ali. But you know. The mountain range one or something. Match Pitch right?"

Ali's eyes widened. "Oh. You mean Machu Picchu? Yeah, I'm almost done."

Two-Bit gave her two thumbs up. "Tuff. Now since you're almost done, you won't mind joining us for dinner right? We're going to this nice restaurant. Darry was asking if you wanted to come. Cherry is."

"Darry is Ponyboy's and Sodapop's older brother right?"

"Yep."

She smiled. "If it's not too late I would gladly join you guys. "

 **TIME SKIP**

"So Ali, what do you like to do for fun?" Darry asked kindly.

Soda, Johnny and Pony all turned to her. She blushed. "Uh well I like to draw and paint. Oh and sing too."

Pony's eyes lit up. "You read? For fun?"

"Yeah . . . "

"I thought I was the only one! Have you read Catcher in the Rye?"

"Oh no, not yet. I was hoping to read it for the choice novel. I hope it's good."

"It's really good," he gushed and clinked his utensils together. "You should start reading it soon. Maybe then we can talk about it-"

"Oh come one Pony, you should calm down. If you're so obsessed with books,why don'tcha start dating one?" cackled Two-Bit.

Pony blushed and looked away. "Aw shut up Two-Bit."

Soda and Darry laughed hard and pushed Pony playfully. "He got you good!" Sodapop laughed.

Ali lightly laughed too. "Don't worry Pony, I'll read it. ANd we can talk about it soon."

Two-Bit threw himself onto the edge of the booth. "Hey do any of ya's know when the food will get here?"

Darry tapped against the table. "It shouldn't take long actually. We only ordered about five minutes ago. The food is served fresh here too."

Ali shifted in her seat. "Darrel, I don't think I got to thank you for inviting me to dinner with your friends."

Darry waved his hand. "It's not problem. Oh, and call me Darry."

She nodded.

The food came later on. More people started to come in. Partially well behaved greasers and middle class families. The evening turned into night and it started to become fun. People started to go up and act. Some started to sing (badly) and some even started to play pool. Oh it was a fun night.

Ali, Johnny and Pony were the only ones left at the table. They were all watching the night unfold. Darry, had gone back a little while ago, because he had work in the morning. The rest of the gang were around the restaurant, and Ali hoped they weren't causing any trouble.

Then suddenly Ali jumped violently when she felt something sit next to her. Pony and Johnny only stared.

"Hey Ali," Two-Bit wriggled his eyebrows. "Do you know how to sing?"

Ali slowly nodded. "Yeah . . . I can sing . . . I guess."

Two-Bit smiled bright and wide. He stood up so fast, and almost knocked the chair down. "Hey! Matt! This girl over here can sing!"

Another young man from across the room stood up. Ali guess his name was Matt, and she guess he worked here too.

Matt stood up. "Well good, we need another show for her up!"

Two-Bit nodded and looker over at Ali. She was backing up and shaking her head.

"I'm not going up there. I'm not going up there." She repeated.

"Oh come on Ali, you can sing for us right?" He looked around and whispered in her ear. "Sing for Dally, your true love."

Johnny looked away.

Ali wrinkled her nose, noticing Johnny's fidgeting from the corner of her eye. "Ew Two-Bit, you need to stop, you know I don't like him."

Two-Bit laughed. "Hey guys! Who wants Ali to sing!"

Everyone nodded, cheering her on, but Dally didn't say anything. He only stared at her from two table down, and she felt her hands get clammy. _Well it was weird when Dally didn't glare at me, but now he is . . . so I can't be really complaining because I asked for this._

"Um, if you guys really want to, I can sing." She said softly.

Cherry nodded eagerly. "Come one Ali, you sing good. Don't be shy now."

Johnny looked back. "If you really want to, you can sing for us. I'd like that."

Pony nodded too. "If you can sing, why not show it off? I mean that's cool right?"

Steve and Soda didn't get to have a say in her decision because they were nowhere to be seen, but she knew the two boys were probably hanging out with some girls/ Probably in the back or something.

"GO ALI!" Two-Bit cheered and hauled her up the stage.

Dally rolled his eyes. "Just try not to sound like a bull frog!" He called out and got a few shoves from Two-Bit.

Ali felt her cheeks grow red, but she kept walking on, pretending she hadn't heard Dally. She sighed and watched everyone down, in the audience start to look at her.

Matt softly and kindly handed her a guitar and pointed her at the stool. He smiled at her too, which made Ali feel self conscious.

The people had quieted down, and all their attention was directed at Ali. She swallowed. _Oh boy Two-Bit, what have you gotten me into now._

She walked up to the speaker and turned. "Um, hello. My name is Ali. Um, I'll be singing a song that I made. Uh, well I hope you guys like it. Oh, and this is dedicated to table number six."

She winked and Two-Bit waved his arms.

Ali strummed the guitar and closed her eyes.

 **[A/N: Lyrics to the song Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You Kellie Pickler]**

 _I remember the way you made love to me_

She heard a loud laugh from table six and she smiled. _Two-Bit,_ she thought.

 _Like I was all you'd ever need_

 _Did you change your mind_

 _Well I didn't change mine_

 _Now here I am trying to make sense of it all_

 _We were best friends now we don't even talk_

 _You broke my heart_

 _Ripped my world apart_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you, baby_

 _I gave you everything, every part of me_

 _Didn't you feel it when I touched you_

 _Didn't I rock you when I loved you, baby_

 _Baby, tell me_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you_

 _I can't get you out of my head_

 _I still feel you in this bed_

 _Left me all alone_

 _You couldn't be more gone_

 _From falling apart to fighting mad_

 _From wanting you back to not giving a damn_

 _I've felt it all_

 _I've been to the wall_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you, baby_

 _I gave you everything, every part of me_

 _Didn't you feel it when I touched you_

 _Didn't I rock you when I loved you, baby_

 _Baby, tell me_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you_

 _One day justice will come and find you_

 _And I'll be right there in your memory to remind you_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you, baby_

 _I gave you everything, every part of me_

 _Didn't you feel it when I touched you_

 _Didn't I rock you when I loved you, baby_

 _Baby, tell me_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you, baby_

 _I gave you everything, every part of me_

 _Didn't you feel it when I touched you_

 _Didn't I rock you when I loved you, baby_

 _Baby, tell me_

 _Didn't you know how much I loved you_

 **THIRD POV:**

 **(FOCUSED ON JOHNNY)**

After Ali had finished singing, the whole crowd erupted in applause and she bowed.

Johnny was impressed. He was very shocked that Ali had such a powerful message composed through a beautiful melodic song. He feared for a second that Ali once had a boyfriend that she had loved so much.

Ali got off the stage and more music was played.

Pony stared at him, and cracked a smile. "Hey Johnny, it's okay. Just go ask her to dance. It'll be easy."

Johnny gulped. "I-I don't know man. What if she says no?"

Pony got quiet. "Well then, you're gonna have to ask her again."

Pony got up and beckoned Johnny to follow him, and he did. Then he pushed Johnny over to Ali's direction and waved at him to go.

Johnny had never felt more nervous in his life. He saw Ali drinking some water, and he found his feet walking towards her, until he was right in front of her.

Ali looked up and smiled. "Hey Johnny."

"Hi."

"So . . . did you like my singing."

"It was really good."

"Thank you."

Both of them just looked around. Anyone would clearly be able to tell that both of them were so nervous, that they had stopped breathing.

Pony and Two-Bit and Dally were watching it unfold from across the room. Cherry was next to Pony, watching it unfold too.

"Do you think he asked her yet?" Pony whispered.

"To dance? Man, she'll start shaking like a leaf." Cherry responded.

"I don't know what on earth Johnny is doin.' I mean, he's just standin' there." Two-Bit whispered back.

Dally sighed. "I hope she says no and that Johnny finally gets it that she doesn't like him."

Both greasers looked at Dally and back at Johnny and Ali.

"I hope she does NOT say no." Pony said.

Two-Bit nodded. "Me too."

Cherry sighed dreamily. "I just hope she doesn't screw it up."

"So, Ali. Um, do you like the song that's playing?"

Ali nodded. "Yeah, it's nice."

Johnny coughed a little. "So uh, would you uh, like to d-dance?"

He cursed at himself for stuttering and acting like a fool.

Ali's eyes widened. "Dance?"

Johnny felt something in the pit of his stomach. _Oh no, here comes rejection,_ he thought.

Johnny held his hands out. "I mean, if you don't want to that's perfectly fine, I mean you did just sing and that might've made you a little tired. If you don't want to I get it."

Ali stood. "Of course I would like to dance with you."

Johnny's heart was beating one hundred miles a minute. He took Ali's hand and they went to the dance floor

What both, Johnny and Ali didn't know, was that both of them didn't dance much. So therefore they were clumsy. You could say that Ali almost tripped and landed on Johnny. Both let out stuttering apologizes. By the end of the dance, both were out of breath, smiling and blushing.

Aaahhh, it was such a cute sight to see.

Eventually two-Bit decided that it would be fun to dance too. So he waltz right in and slipped Ali away from him, and they started to dance.

Did I mention that Two-Bit was a great dancer? Well anyways, he taught Ali some steps and then Johnny. And by the end of the night both of them, were basically professionals.

The fun was short lived. because that was when their little fun time, ended abruptly when an uninvited guest came barging in.

Both of them were in their seats catching their breaths drinking a little bit of water. Two-Bit was playfully slapping Johnny in the back congratulating him. Pony kept whispering something to Johnny, and Johnny blushed. And Dally? Well he rolled his eyes and glanced at Ali, once.

Ali was about to open her mouth and say 'thank you,' to Johnny when she saw that Dally stood up menacingly. Pony and Johnny froze in their seats.

She slowly turned around, and there was Bob. He looked really pissed. Even more angry than the first time she had seen him at home.

"Oh hey Ali," his voice seethed, but he still had the nerve to wave. "I didn't know you would miss dinner with your own FAMILY to come eat here with these lowlifes."

The whole restaurant hushed down. Other greasers were there, and they slowly craned their necks to see what was going on. Some even stood up and started to play with their blades.

Ali gulped.

Dally sneered and pulled out his switchblade. "I didn't think you had the balls to actually come here. Especially on greaser turf."

Bob shrugged. "I was only here to get Ali."

Cherry looked down and rummaged with her purse.

"I don't want to go home. I'm staying with Cherry overnight anyways."

Bob faced Ali. "Do you _think_ I care? You're going home with me NOW."

Cherry looked scared at Bob. Ali was scared of Bob too. Her own brother. Man, she should've been scared of the greasers, not her own brother.

Bob walked over to Ali and grabbed her wrist so hard she yelped. She saw from the corner of her eye that Johnny had sprung up from his seat, a worried look on his face as he saw Ali being dragged away. She saw Ponyboy run over to Steve and Soda. She saw him pointing.

Cherry leapt up from her chair. "Bob, calm down. Let Ali go." She pleaded.

He didn't.

Two-Bit also followed Bob, and began to taunt him. "Hey Soc, now that's not a nice way to treat your sister. You shouldn't drag her away like that. Won't your daddy get mad?"

"Do you think I give a damn? My _sister_ doesn't belong here." He turned to Cherry. "And you don't either. What would your parents say if they saw you hanging out with these scums?"

As he spat out the words Ali saw that Cherry was trying to find something she could say. Cherry opened her mouth and closed it. For once she looked defeated.

Two-Bit stopped smiling and a hard look on his face appeared. He stepped back.

 _Bob has to be drunk._ Ali thought. _He wouldn't act like this if he was . . . sober . . . would he? And everyone is looking at me. How humiliating._

"Bob, let go. You're hurting me." Ali pleaded, but Bob only tightened his grip and she tried to pull away. "Bob let go! Come on! You're hurting me!"

Bob whirled around. "Shut up! You're so annoying!"

And then, he did something that made Ali rethink that her brother might've been a good person. He let go of her wrist, wheeled around and slapped her so hard she fell on her butt.

Then all of a sudden chairs went flying and almost all greasers were standing up.

Bob backed up, a feared look on his face. "Ali, I'm -I'm. I didn't meant it . . . " His voice was barely above a whisper, that no one heard him over the now turned down music.

Dally, Two-Bit, Johnny, Steve and Soda and Pony were all sizing up Bob. They were staring him down. Dally kept playing with his switchblade and Steve was giving him a death glare. Other greasers stood up too, because a fight between a Soc and a greaser was always fun to witness.

Ali hadn't realized what had happened until Cherry was pulling her up and away from Bob. Her cheek stung, but it didn't hurt. She was just shocked. She was also scared. Because she hadn't been expecting that at all.

"Ali, are you okay?" Johnny asked as Cherry hauled her over to them.

Ali opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, tears started to fill her eyes.

Soda tapped her shoulder. "Do you want us to go beat him up?" He asked politely.

Ali quickly nodded and brushed away her tears. The stinging in her cheek had begun to hurt now.

Soda stood up and smiled. "Well Soc, looks like we got your sister's permission to beat you up."

Soda cracked his knuckles. Dally and Two-Bit whirled around their switchblades. Pony and Johnny were staring at Bob. And Cherry went right up to him.

"Bob," she began and she looked down. "I feel . . . I feel like this isn't going to work out for us." She said calmly. Then all of a sudden, she smiled wickedly and she went ahead and slapped his face with her nails. "Take it away boys, but try not to kill him." She said as she sashayed back to Ali.

Bob ran out with almost half the restaurant at his tail, regretting ever being born. And for the first time, in a long time since meeting the greasers, Ali felt sad.

And that, was truly heartbreaking.

Cherry started to rant about Bob to Ponyboy, and both of them started to have this long conversation that eventually led to cars for some reason. But anyways, they were in their own little world.

Ali wiped herself and sat down on the floor. A small smile broke on her face. "Oh lord, what a night."

"Ali, are you sure you're okay?" Johnny asked. He looked at her in the eyes.

Her smile faltered. "Um, kind of." She looked down at her hands.

He shook his head. "No, you aren't."

She felt the tears well up in her eyes.

She leaned in and hugged him. "No I'm not." She whispered.

And then, the waterworks began.

* * *

 **SORRY FOR ANY SPELLING MISTAKES, I KINDA RUSHED. OMG I FEEL LIKE THIS CHAPTER SUCKED! And TO MY KIND REVIEWER** **thewritevoice** **\- umm . . . is that an okay request? I mean he did try to ask Ali out. On a dance . . . is that acceptable? I mean it's Johnny right? Well anyways, until next time, TOodles!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow, it feels . . . like it's been so long . . . Man, we're already on double digits . . . Well I hope you guys like this chapter! BEcause I sure do! Sorry for any spelling mistakes.**

* * *

 **THIRD POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON CLARA)**

Clara Whittmore was an only child.

For most of her life she had been alone. And when she wasn't, she would occasionally play dolls with one of her many maids. Her parents were too busy to pay much attention to her, but she couldn't complain because if it weren't for them, she wouldn't be rich. And that was all that mattered to her.

You could say that nothing really bothered Clara, but then that would be a lie. Because what annoyed Clara more than not getting what she wanted, was Ali Sheldon.

The feeling was mutual for both girls. But what Ali had, was self control. Ali knew when to stop. She knew when jokes became too insulting or that if someone wanted to be left alone. Clara however, didn't. So, of course, that was her own downfall.

Clara had seen the scene that had played out at the restaurant. Clara thought that Ali had deserved that slap from her brother, even though she hadn't really heard the whole conversation. It seemed logical to slap her. Hell, she'd slap herself if she made the horrible mistake of even looking at the greasers. What Ali had done, had been too much. She was insulting the rich by hanging out with the poor, who Clara thought were lowlifes. There were seen by lowlifes by a lot of other people too, so that wasn't really a problem.

Adults, especially saw them as that, but then again, in those times if adults didn't see that someone was like them, they would cut them down.

Ah, it was such a sad thing.

But when Ali had broken down crying, it seemed funny to her. Not that crying was a good thing, because Clara herself had cried when she hadn't gotten the puppy that she had really wanted and she had felt empty for a short while, but seeing that the happy, cheerful Ali was crying, now that was unusual.

Of course, to Clara, it wasn't an opportunity she could just pass up. It was just too good, actually. She had followed both Cherry and Ali, but she hadn't actually stepped inside the restaurant. No way, it wasn't her cup of tea.

Clara had actually thought that waiting for hours outside on a humid day had been all for nothing. That was before she saw the fight, but after, she shut herself up and called herself the luckiest girl in the world. (But she already knew that long before she had even began to remember to think, but that was another story) Clara had to make fun of Ali of course, because she was sure that there would never be a another chance to. She had been waiting for a long time.

And you know what really dropped the bombshell? The one thing that was absolutely hilarious?

The fact that Ali wasn't crying along.

Oh no. Not in Cherry's arms either.

She was crying in the arms of a dark, skinny wimp-like greaser. Oh, this was just getting better and better. Clara thought mentally giggling like a maniac. But she couldn't exactly waltz up there and make fun of her. At least, not re were more greasers around. She would have to wait until she was alone . . . that would probably be soon.

She saw Cherry and Ali excuse themselves and head outside. Perfect.

 **X - X - X - X - X**

It didn't take long enough for them to get into their car and just sit there. They were probably talking how this night had gotten from fairly okay to horrible. Clara smiled to herself.

Cherry was all talk and no act. Or, however that saying went.

Anyways, this was her time to shine now. And nothing was going to stop her.

She walked right up to them, not even bothering to knock. She let herself in, and jumped right in the back of Cherry's car.

"Hello ladies," she smiled. "Fancy meeting you here. Were you guys also trying to find some dirt on the greasers or was that just me?" She asked sweetly.

Cherry whirled around and snorted. "What are you doing here Clara? Why are you even in my car? Oh, did your friends abandoned you and you were forced to try and make friends with some greasers? Sorry for being so inconsiderate."

Clara narrowed her eyes, before rolling them. "Oh please. Why would they want to leave someone like me? I have everything."

"Yeah, you have everything except some compassion for other people who aren't like you." Ali replied coldly. She took her time in turning. Her eyes were red and her voice was stuffy. She didn't seem to be so happy to see that Clara was here. "What do ya want Clara? Can't ya see that we don't want ya here? Now scram, before one I get some greasers to make ya."

Clara laughed wholeheartedly. "Oh Ali. It seems like hanging out with the greasers has finally started to rub off you. You can't even pronounce your words correctly."

She scowled. "Yeah, so what if that's true? At least . . ." Her voice faltered.

"Well at least for me, I'm not going to be shunned by my parents." Clara smartly finished for her.

"It almost seems," She paused. "Like you're starting to become a greaser."

Cherry gasped.

Ali recoiled and wiped her eyes.

"So what? Is that supposed to make me feel bad? They're people too." Ali whispered.

"Yeah, people who get into trouble too much. Not to mention that they're like wild animals, they live lives of crime too." Clara smiled. "They're bums and losers. I bet all the greaser population has never even gone to college."

Ali remembered Pony and his brother. Darry. She'd heard that he hadn't been able to go to college. He seemed young too . . .

She snapped back to reality. "Well at least they're better than more than half of us."

"Us?" Clara had the nerve to laugh. She laughed. "Us? Please, you're acting like a greaser more everyday. And you're actually enjoying yourself when you spend time with them." She clapped her hands. "Doesn't that make you a greaser?"

Cherry hissed. "Then aren't you technically a snob? "

She laughed.

"No," Ali protested weakly. "I-. No." She shook her head. "What really makes you a greaser? What really makes you a Soc? I mean, it isn't just wealth status right? We're people."

Clara rolled her eyes. "What are you doing? You can't go all professional on me." She hopped off their car. "It isn't like you would understand anyways, because you're family-"

THIRD POV

(FOCUSED ON ALI)

"Don't you dare say anything about my family." Ali screeched out. "You don't know anything."

Ali could feel her heart beating faster, he face heating up. Clam down, calm down. You know what she's trying to do. She's trying to get you riled up.

Clara smiled dangerously. "Oh, please I know more about you than you could imagine." She got closer and closer and Ali felt her heart beat faster and faster. "I know about your dad too."

That's what it took for Ali to explode. No, no, no. She can't know about him. How does she know about him?

Cherry of course tried to hold her back, but she was no match for an angry Ali. When Ali got angry, she got angry. It was a rare thing really, so she really couldn't control herself.

Ali couldn't really stop herself. She could only see red. No! She can't know! How does she know!

She jumped out of the car and landed on Clara, who was so surprised she didn't even let out a whimper. Not until she landed on the floor with a loud thud. That seemed to have snapped her out of it.

"My skirt!" She screamed. "This is a new skirt and the ground is absolutely disgusting!"

Cherry opened her door and took off her heels, throwing them in the car. She ran inside the store.

"What did you say about my father?" Ali hissed.

"I said I know about your father."Clara knocked her off onto her back. "Please, isn't it obvious?"

"What's obvious?" Ali strained out as Clara held her by the wrists.

Her back was digging into the rocks and she felt vulnerable. Her hair felt dirty and she smelled the gasoline on the ground.

You could say the fight was like any other fight. It was a girl fight. Nails and claws. Pulling hair, and ripping clothes. Occasionally there would be a few punches thrown, they were mostly thrown by Ali. She hadn't been hanging out with the boys for nothing. She'd seen them fight. She seen the boys throw playful, but hard punches. So, that's what she did. Well, not punching, but slaps that sent painful waves down Clara's back.

That was until Clara got an advantage when Ali's hair was tugged, and punched her in the stomach. It send her flying. Her hands were shaking. She felt jumpy. She felt the adrenaline rushing through her body. But she could also feel the air being knocked out of her.

She stumbled right into Cherry's car and gripped the side. Anger was starting to fade, replaced by desperation. She couldn't lose this fight. For if she did, she would feel even more like a loser than she already felt.

 **FIRST POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON JOHNNY)**

By the time all us were getting ready to leave, Cherry burst in through the doors. She looked out of breath and she wasn't wearing shoes. Which was even stranger because the parking lot was full of dirt and it was dirty and Cherry was a Soc. Socs didn't do unclean stuff.

Well anyways, Pony had explained to me that he had been hoping that I would get with Ali, because she was a good person. She was a good person, but just not for me. She was too good for me. I thought Pony saw that.

And not to mention. She was a Soc. No way a Soc, or any girl would want to be with me. I had a horrible life at home. And Dally didn't exactly like Socs. Or Soc girls hanging around me. He didn't like girls distracting me from school. Not that I went to school much anyways.

"Johnny, Ponyboy, guys, go outside quickly. It's Ali. I need help."

The nervousness and sheer tone of Cherry's voice made me scared. The way she had been looking, her hair a little bit disheveled, her feet dirty and without shoes, and the way she had called for our attention. Now, that had shaken me up.

Especially when she mentioned Ali and that she need our help. Cherry bolted over to where we lay immobile and grabbed onto Pony's arm. But she looked at me.

"We have to get outside quickly, before it's too late." She said and pulled Pony along.

I caught sight of Soda throw us a glare, but it wasn't a glare. It was more like a playful one. But Pony didn't see it, and I pretended not to either.

As soon as we all stepped outside, I wondered how Cherry had managed to magically walk all the way to inside of the store. I didn't even see her car. It was too dark.

My legs were feeling like jello and my heart was beating hard against my chest. Ali made me feel like I wasn't the only one who was having troubles. She would understand me the most, well more than Pony could. He couldn't relate to being hurt by his family.

Cherry, but Cherry, where were her shoes?

Cherry's car was parked almost all the way in the back. I would have guessed that it was there, so that it wouldn't be seen. So that greasers or other people didn't get any ideas while the girls were gone. It was a nice car. Red and sleek. New too.

What surprised me more than seeing Ali break down in my arms and hug me, was that she was fighting with another girl. They weren't exactly fighting like the boys would, or how others would when they would get jumped or start a fight. They were slapping each other and throwing punches, and pulling at each other's hair.

Ali threw in some good ones, but it wasn't enough for the other girl.

I didn't like fighting. I don't like it at all. It hurt to see that the girl and Ali were throwing fairly hurtful punches at each other.

Pony and Cherry helped separate them. I didn't. I didn't want to risk getting hit by the girl, because if she hit me, she wouldn't care at all, and I didn't need to feel that. I already felt enough at home.

Cherry had basically thrown Clara off of Ali. Pony and Cherry had to hold Ali back. I didn't want to tell her anything because if she wanted to fight, she could. I wasn't stopping her.

I also didn't want to get on her bad side . . . .

Both girls had really gone at it. I didn't know how one could manage to not break her nails fighting. The girl's name was Clara. I had heard Ali hiss it out.

Now that she mentioned it, I had heard about her in school Clara didn't break her nails, she didn't scream, or yell when Ali had gotten her good. But at school, now that was another story. When she broke or even chipped her nail, she would go out and scream.

Did Clara come here with some other girls?

What was she even doing here?

Had she happened to somehow walk here all alone?

Did one of the Socs drop her off?

My thoughts were interrupted when Clara spoke.

"You better not even get close to Jason," Clara had whimpered, and touched her stomach, "I bet he'll be real disappointed in you when he finds out that you defended these greaser scum." She spat at my feet, merely missing my torn shoes and scampered away into the night.

Wow, how dramatic.

Cherry was talking to Ponyboy in what seemed like a very good conversation. I didn't want to bother them, so I decided to let them bond too.

I walked up to the worn out Ali. "Who's Jason?" I asked warily. I hoped she wasn't dating anyone, I hadn't seen her with any guys. Unless you count Two-Bit, otherwise by all means, he was basically her shadow.

She looked up. "Oh, he was just a good friend of mine. They were dating before but they broke up for some reason. I think that Clara really hates me because I was friends with him." She breathed out.

"Maybe she was jealous that she wasn't as caring and understanding as you." I replied.

And she laughed. "Yeah."

"But maybe she just doesn't want someone ugly making Jason uncomfortable. He kinda just drifted apart from me a while ago."

I was about to tell her that she didn't look ugly and that she was as pretty as Cherry when a voice called out. Loud and clear.

It was another girl. And the rest of the gang.

Ali moved away from me to Cherry and pulled her away from Pony. I heard their conversation.

 **THIRD POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON ALI)**

"Hey Marcia! Over here!" Two-Bit called out. He had a bruise forming on his cheek, but he seemed happy.

Dally and some other greasers were laughing and probably mimicking Bob's weak punches. They had come back smoking and slapping themselves on the back. Another Soc down, about half the town to go.

Ali spun around. "Did Marcia know about this? Oh no, it would've been so rude if she knew we didn't invite her!" She started to breath harder. The punch to the stomach must've gotten her harder than she had expected.

Cherry smiled. "Of course she knew, but she couldn't come earlier. Two-Bit told asked me to invite her."

"When did you talk to Two-Bit? I thought you didn't like him?" Ali sighed. "Oh, you know what don't answer those questions. Well now she'll see me differently. Do you think she saw the fight?" Ali whispered. "She definitely saw the fight, I mean everyone saw it."

She touched her face. She could already feel a bruise forming from Clara's harsh slap. She could still feel her nails, as she scraped away at her skin.

Wow, she for once was proud that she had actually gotten in a fight, and won. Well not technically winning, because Clara had backed off hissing out insults, but she had backed off.

Ali sighed. "Man, I want to go home now. I feel disgusting, and I have no doubt about it that I look like I have gone through a mud bath." She tied her hair and laughed coldly. "Can you believe her? She called me ugly, I think I can see that right now."

Johnny and Ali were alone just hanging around, sitting on the steps, Johnny took his chance to speak.

"No, Ali, you're perfect," Johnny cut in immediately, surprising her. "Don't ever say that again, because though you may not see it, you're perfect for me."

He blushed. "Sorry, I mean is that when you clean yourself up a bit, you look even prettier,"

I bet I look like crap. My hair feels dirt and it's tangled.

Ali smiled sincerely. "Thank you Johnny," she whispered.

Now, if only she saw that herself.

"You're perfect for me too."

Johnny sadly smiled. "Oh Ali, you have no idea."

They hugged and that was it. If Two-Bit had been there, he probably would have been dramatically crying and saying that she hadn't confessed her love for Dally. His wails probably would've been heard for miles. Dally would've punched his lights out for even mentioning that he, a greaser would allow himself to be confessed to, by a Soc.

 **X - X - X - X - X**

The next night, when Bob had gotten better and gotten the strength to remember, he told on Ali. He told on her like a little kid, a little kid who didn't know any better. You could say that Bob got his revenge. But of course Bob was just being the normal annoying brother that thought, just because he was older, he could boss around a younger sibling. All brothers think they have a right to, it didn't matter if they were younger or older.

He was being the annoying, overprotective, know-it-all brother. So of course he didn't know what he had done to Ali. He didn't know that he had basically gotten her a death wish.

But he was eventually bound to find out soon, because these past few days, his father wasn't being too quiet when he slept.

Ali, you could say was not going to be going to school for probably a week. Maybe her father could write the school a letter that she would be staying over with family because her dear grandmother was sick, and she was really close with her grandmother.

This was all but the truth. Ali hated her grandmother but the school didn't ask questions about rich family's needs. So for her father, that was perfect.

TIME SKIP

"Where's Ali?" Johnny had asked for the third time today, but this time it was towards Cherry,

"She's taking the week off. I heard that her grandmother is sick." Cherry said.

She looked at Pony. "I just don't know why she would go and visit her grandmother though. Even for a week. That's a long time. She hates her grandmother."

Pony nodded. "Maybe she didn't have a choice. I mean if my grandmother was sick, even if I didn't knew her that well, I would go."

Cherry sighed. "Yeah I guess."

She turned to Johnny. "Where were you yesterday? I didn't see you at school."

Johnny blushed. "My dad got mad at me for staying out too late."

Ponyboy nodded to him, but Cherry didn't get it.

"So? I would wish that I got to stay home when my parents got mad at me." She paused.

"Wait! Did you go and visit Ali? Aw, that's sweet. My dad doesn't like it when I went to my boyfriend's house."

Pony tensed up.

"He used to ground me and force me to stay home. I couldn't call either."

Both boys looked at each other.

"Yeah Cherry. Sure."

* * *

 **I was writing this, like not on Google, and when I tried to publish it, it crashed and I was just staring at my screen like WHAT THE F-**

 **Well, anyways I had it saved (I thought I didn't and I panicked) I legit almost cried.**

 **I also didn't know how to end this, so sorry for the crappy ending.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh god, it's been so long. Sorry for the wait, and for any spelling mistakes.**

 **On that note, you guys should also listen to "Smother," by Daughter, starting from Ponyboy's POV chapter.**

 **;)**

* * *

 **(THIRD PERSON POV)**

 **Darry's POV**

Darry had already had a crappy day when he got home. At it got even worse when he saw that he needed to buy milk and had to go grocery shopping in general. Oh, and not to mention he had to buy more dishes too, because since he'd been too busy with everything, he hadn't noticed that three, pristine, rather okay looking dishes had gone missing. According to Dally, Steve and Ponyboy, Two-Bit had apparently tripped over his shoelace three times to tell a story. Darry had almost wanted to choke the guy, but he'd gotten away.

And that story had been _stupid_. To _everyone_. So, at least Darry wasn't the only one.

Darry was in a foul mood almost all week actually, but that day was when he exploded. It seemed like working extra hours and almost falling and breaking his back on the job wasn't enough for a raise. But _hey_ , Darry was an understanding guy (when he wanted to be) and he could slightly understand why his boss wouldn't give him (one of the best workers there, not to brag) a raise.

Darry tossed his shoes into his bedroom and headed to the bathroom.

Actually no, he couldn't see why his boss wouldn't give him the raise, and he was beyond pissed.

But hey, again, Darry was a calm guy. He was calm. He tried to get calm, and the only way that would work, was if he took a nice cool, relaxing shower. So that's what he did for fifteen minutes.

After he realized how long he'd been in the shower, Darry sighed loudly as he dried himself off. As he looked into the mirror, he noticed that his hair was starting to thin. _At 20_.Talk about the life. [Darry sighed about thirty more times throughout the day.] And let out a deep breath when he went to look in the fridge hoping that there was still lemonade left when there was a _slam!_ of the door.

First it was Two-Bit, who'd almost made him explode.

"Howdy folks!" He began, getting all reared up to destroy what little peace Darry had left. "Two-Bit is _here_! Hey, Superman! Where are you?"

Darry was thinking maybe he should take the whole Advil bottle and wing it.

"I'm in here Two-Bit," He finally said softly, having really no room for argument.

"WHAT!? THE KITCHEN?"

Darry rolled his eyes. "No need to shout. And yes."

So after about ten minutes, Darry wanted to strangle Two-Bit. The only thing that stopped him was that if he was in jail, he couldn't take care of his brothers. All throughout the time Two-bit was there, he kept repeating to himself that his brothers would rot in a boy´s home, and that he would rot in jail. So, yeah, Two-Bit had completely destroyed the peace, and by the time he left, Darry was hanging by a single thread.

But that was when the mail arrived, and _whoopdeedoo_ , report card. _Pony's report card._

Darry opened the letter and-

 _Phys Ed.: 96 (A+)_

 _History: 97 (A+)_

 _Algebra: 92 (A-)_

 _Biology: 96 (A+)_

Darry, of course was happy that Pony had gotten all A's, but hey -why was that Algebra score that low?

And then, when he learned why, the volcano's pressure started to rise and build. It was only a matter of time before it would explode . . .

Half an hour later, Ponyboy had basically come into the house, practically _giggling_ with happiness, and he lost it. Ponyboy could _not_ be giggling and jumping and smiling because an 83% on a quiz he said he studied for was _not_ okay. It was a recent one. The one Darry had made sure he studied for. An equations quiz. It was the basic, most easiest thing, anyone could learn.

"Darry," Ponyboy began as he settled his backpack down and kicked off his shoes. "Can I go out to the Dingo today? I finished all my homework, and I was planning on inviting Cher-"

He didn't even finish his sentence when Darry cut in immediately.

"You want to go out Pony?" Darry bit out and crossed his arms. "You want to go _out_? Do you think that they'll accept you into college with an A or a B?"

Ponyboy grimaced and shrunk back, because he knew where this was going. "An A," he whispered.

" _Exactly_. All A's. Now, Johnny may be fooling around with his girlfriend and everything, but I'm not going to allow you to do the same." Darry didn't even paused to catch his breath. "An 83 Ponyboy!? On an Algebra quiz? That stuff is supposed to be easy peazy lemon squeezy, so why did you get such a low score! Didn't you say you studied? Or did you lie to me, hm? Because if you did, you know damn well what the consequences are, and even if you didn't lie, there are still consequences for getting a bad grade."

Ponyboy swallowed roughly (and oh god, all his excitement had immediately died.)

"No, no Darry, I didn't lie to you. It's just that I wasn't paying attention-" Darry's eyes narrowed and Pony slowed down. "And I put in the answer in the wrong section . . . " His voice lowered until it finally trailed off.

He'd been thinking about Johnny and Ali. And he'd been thinking on asking Johnny how to subtly drop hints that you liked a girl, and well, he hadn't had chance. Ponyboy was pretty sure Cherry liked him back.

A little bit. Well, she smiled at him a lot.

Darry scoffed. "Yeah, you weren't paying attention. That's what you always say. And no, you can't go out to the Dingo. That's final."

 **X X X**

 **(THIRD PERSON POV)**

 **Pony's POV**

Ponyboy, of course, even as obedient as he was, didn't listen to Darry, because he had promised Cherry he'd be at the Dingo. And when he promised something, he never broke that promise. Well, maybe except if it had to do something with his brothers, then yeah. But otherwise, he kept his side of the bargain. Especially with his special someone.

Besides, it was a Friday. And if he was found out and yelled at, and (possibly, 100% chance of getting grounded) punished, it wouldn't really matter, because hello? Weekend. A two day weekend, like always. Oh, and also, Sodapop gave him permission to go out. So, if 1 out of 2 brothers gave him permission, he could do it . . . well . . .. Ponyboy didn't like to dwell on the past, and he'd already hopped out of his bedroom window. There was no going back.

Anyways.

Ponyboy was sweating a fierce storm when Cherry arrived. Not only because, it was their official first date. It was actually because _it was hot._ The humidity was seeping into the barely air conditioned place. Maybe the Dingo was a bad restaurant to go to on your first date. But it was too late to go back now.

Cherry was wearing a nice flowing dress that looked nice on her frame. Ponyboy imagined that she was fresh, and then he wondered that if wearing jeans had been a good idea.

Oh man, maybe he should have stayed home. Cherry would've understood-

No.

He was here, and she was here, and that meant they'd both agreed to this, and that meant that Pony still had a small chance with her.

So, then they said hello to each other, and waited.

The whole thing, was pretty uneventful. Both parties were nervous, and so their talk was small and curt. But after the food arrived, Cherry decided to take the lead.

"So, Ponyboy," she began. "Are you planning on going anywhere after this?"

Pony took a sip of his drink "Um, home, I think," he said absentmindedly.

Her smile that had begun to appear on her mouth, wavered. "Okay," she said simply "Okay."

Ponyboy noticed this and he may have realized that me might've messed up. But before he could say anything, Cherry, being the smart chick she was, changed the subject.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled again at Ponyboy. "So,I heard that Ali got a 95% on her mountain project." Then she paused as Pony nodded. "Was she working with Two-Bit? I bet he didn't do anything, except watch."

Ponyboy put down his milkshake. "Yeah, um, I'm pretty sure he did something though." Was he too obvious? Yeah. Maybe he was. Two-Bit could be dumb at times, and lazy, and many other things, but he was still smart in many other ways. "He probably made the job easier? I don't know."

Was he really going to have a heated discussion with his crush about his friend?

He gave up, and talked about Johnny.

"Johnny seems happier," he noted, waiting for Cherry to pick the topic up. And she did.

"Yeah, and Ali too. They looks so cute together, and they seem to understand each other a lot."

A pause.

"They do."

And then silence filled the air.

 **X X X**

"Hey," Cherry whispered, and clutched her purse. "Do ya wanna go to Buck's? I heard there was a party."

Ponyboy raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "There are always parties at Bucks."

Cherry smiled sweetly. "I know, but tonight is special."

Ponyboy was straight up about to say 'yes,' then he remembered Dally, and how he might be at Buck´s and that if he saw Pony, well, Pony was a goner. Then he remembered that Dally had not approved of Ali. And how he was 99.9% sure, he wouldn't approve of Cherry either. And then he remembered that he wasn't even supposed to be here. If Dally saw Pony at Buck's, Dally would tell Darry, and then that would lead to his funeral, and maybe another additional grounding.

Great. Everything was just getting better and better.

"I-I don't know Cherry," Ponyboy said finally, lowering his voice, and looked around. "Listen, I'm not even supposed to be here." (This got a look of disbelief, but he continued.) "I was grounded, and I came here for you. But if I go into Buck's anything can happen."

Cherry sighed, but she nodded. "Of course. Thank you for doing this. If i knew, you wouldn't have had to come-"

"No, Cherry. I wanted to come here."

They walked side by side, heading to Buck's place, and when they got there, they stayed outside.

"Well, we're here anyways," Cherry said. "What do we do?"

Pony shrugged. "We can dance."

And then, Cherry stood up straighter, and she gently slipped of her coat. "Yeah. We _can_ dance."

And so, with the music the leaked from Buck's party and into the starry night, Pony and Cherry danced.

Even after there was no music, and the house grew silent and dark, and people started to go, they continued to dance. Well hugging each other, and shuffling feet, and humming could count as dancing right?

They had each other, so it didn't matter.

Now Pony knew what Johnny felt, and wow, what had he been missing all this time?

 **THIRD PERSON POV**

 **(FOCUSED ON JOHNNY)**

Both of them had made a small journey to the park, where they had first met. And after talking a bit, and losing each other plenty of time due to the darkness, they decided to stop.

They sat down on the edge of the fountain

"So,"Johnny began. "How was your visit to your grandmother's?"

There was silence.

"Ali?"

"I don't like her," Ali finally said.

Johnny remembered what Cherry had pointed out before. "Yeah. Why not? Cherry told me you visited her for the week. You missed some homework. And believe it or not, Two-Bit was getting worried. He tried to convince Dally to break into your house, and I think Dally was considering it. You know, because Soc house, ya know."

Ali laughed softly. "Ah, Two-Bit, he's a funny character, I can't believe we got an A. Well, I know I got an A, maybe he got a D-. So, yeah. My grandmother is sick, and I'm forced to visit her."

Johnny nodded. "I don't really know my grandparents. My ma and pa, don't even talk about them either. I don't really think I've ever seen them, now that I've thought about it."

"My grandmother used to make me read in French," Ali said now, looking up. "And dancing. But I didn't like it. She would make me walk standing up straight for hours."

"I would've loved to see my grandparents. My ma used to play piano," Johnny added, trying to steer the direction of the conversation a bit.

"My grandmother taught me a bit of piano too," Ali was picking at her skirt. "I can still play a bit."

Johnny smiled. "I would love to hear you play. I love piano."

Ali, smirked at him, and got up. "We should go somewhere else."

Johnny went out to reach for her, and that was when she took off running.

"Ali!"

He heard her laughing in the distance.

"Ali! Come back! Or else I won't be able to find you!" Johnny loudly called out. He started to fast walk in the direction of rustling leaves. But that wasn't helpful because the wind was slightly blowing. Somewhere off to his left a voice called out, "That's the point."

And then, when the laughter led to a swing set, he knew that Ali was lingering somewhere.

"Hey," Johnny whispered. "Hey, Ali."

"Johnny, I'm right here."

Something touched his shoulder, and Johnny flinched unconsciously at the sudden movement.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't know you were so close. It's just so dark. I wish the moon was out." Johnny took her arm. "And don't' run out like that again. You could've tripped and gotten hurt."

"Sorry," Ali replied and gently released herself from Johnny's loose grip. "And yeah, it would've looked prettier if the moon was out."

Johnny sat down on a swing, and Ali did the same. Their seats loudly swinging in the dark.

"Won't your parents be mad?"

"For what? Sneaking out of my house after curfew or being with a greaser?"

Johnny stopped swinging his seat, and his feet settled. He felt slightly dejected. "I don't know, both maybe," he said.

"Well I don't' care what they think, well I do. But it doesn't really matter right now," Johnny could practically feel Ali's smile. "Did you know that when you look at someone you love, your pupils enlarge?"

Johnny turned at stared at Ali. "Did you also know that when you're in the dark, your pupils enlarge too?"

Ali giggled. "I mean it could be both." She leaned closer and squinted. "Your eyes are enlarged. Could it be love? Or the dark?"

Johnny pulled back, his face flushing. Heat overtook his face, and he was glad that it was dark. "I don't know," he mumbled weakly.

"Didya know that Two-Bit told me some advice?"

Johnny's eyes widened, and then he groaned. "I hope he didn't tell you about that time he went to Oklahoma city, I hope." Ali smiled. "And I hope you don't listen to any of his advice ever, because all of his advice is bad."

He could feel Ali's breath on his cheek. And he couldn't help but lean back.

"Not all of his advice is bad," she whispered. "I mean, he told me that when the stars are just perfect it creates a moment."

Johnny raised an eyebrow and he imagined Two-Bit talking all sappy. He couldn't imagine it, and said, "Oh yeah? What moment?"

Then, Ali leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"That one."

* * *

 **Sorry for a sappy? (And not really Johnny and Alli focused?) chapter, but I didn't know what else to doooooo. I ran out my mojo. Next update might take some time . . . ugggg I hated this chapter**

 **Oh, and also, for anyone who likes SUPERNATURAL, I posted a story, so go check it out, it would mean a lot!**

* * *

 **X X X**

 **EXTRAS**

 **X X X**

Ali pulled back immediately and she blushed. "Two-Bit told me to, like, you know kiss you on the lips."

Johnny just lay rigid and still.

"But I think the cheek was fine . . . right? For now."

Johnny blinked and shook his head. "Yeah," he said, now smiling. "It's fine for now."

Ali smiled and let her feet swing. "Good."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello. It's been awhile, huh? Sorry for any spelling mistakes . . . yeah . . . I had a huge writers block for most of my stories, especially this one. SOrry for any spelling mistakes, and enjoy.**

* * *

"Are you sure she kissed him?" Dally asked stiffly. "Cause I just don't see Johnny doin' it."

Two-Bit shook his head a little bit too excitedly and Dally grimaced. "No. It was _Johnny_ who kissed her. Didn't think he'd actually do it." He sniffed and wiped away a fake tear. "Our little Johnnycake is growin' up so fast."

Dally made a face and took a swig of his beer. "Shoot," he said after he gulped it down in one go. "I thought I told that kid to focus on his studies."

It was Two-Bit's turn to make a face. "You didn't focus on anything and you got Sylvia and a pretty good life going'."

Dally shrugged uselessly. "That kid had more potential than me. I was just hopin' he wouldn't hold himself back for that Soc."

"Ali isn't holding him back," Two-Bit said cautiously. "She's been helping Johnny getting through some stuff. Even been helping him in his studies and all that." Two-Bit sighed. " You should see the way their eyes light up when they see each other."

Dally was quiet for awhile and Two-Bit thought he was going really gonna get it, but Dally slowly nodded. "I guess I have seen Johnny smilin' some more . . . "

Two-Bit cracked a small smile, relief washing all over his body. "Yep. You shoulda seen him-" his smile vanished at the sudden realization. "You should seen him. He's been asking around for you. Are ya not seeing him cause of of Ali?"

Dally narrowed his eyes. "I ain't avoiding him if that's what you're implying," he said in a low voice. "I've just been busy with Tim and his gang. That's all."

Two-Bit nodded and didn't mention that he'd seen Dally with almost everyone in the gang. Even with Ponyboy, but not when he'd been around Cherry. "Okay," he said simply. He decided to change the subject. "How's Tim's gang?"

"They're doin' pretty swell. One of their boys got caught by the fuzz for selling the speed. "

Two-Bit whistled. "Oh, man. They gotta stop, or else the fuzz might come sniffing in our area too. They might think it's us too."

Dally nodded. "I heard that they were selling to the Socs."

"No! Really?"

 **O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

 **(FIRST PERSON POV)**

 **ALI'S P.O.V**

"So I heard that you kissed a greaser," Clara said in a nasally voice, and I really hoped she was getting sick. So then, maybe she'd be absent for a week and I wouldn't have to see her. "It is true?"

I took a sip of my lemonade and wondered who would have spread the news. Maybe it was Two-Bit. He has a big mouth, but it didn't really bother me, so I shrugged. "Yep, that's right," I said.

Clara snorted and touched her chest as if my mere presence offended her. "If my parent's ever caught me doing something stupid like that, they'd kill me."

"Then do it," I said.

Clara stared at me and made a weird face. "Excuse me?"

I finished eating my sandwich and folded my wrapper. "You're excused."

"Wait a second," Clara said. "We're not finished here. You can't just _leave_. I was talking you, and your remarks are insulting."

"I can do what I want," I replied and got up. "If you keep annoying me, I'll get Dally on your case. You'll see that his remarks are even more insulting than mine."

Clara's eyes widened and she sat up so quickly I thought her back would snap. "Did you just _threaten me_?" she asked in disbelief, then her voice went back to normal. "Well it didn't work. Last time I checked, Dallas Winston doesn't like Socs, much less you. The girl who's dating his buddy. I even saw the look in his eyes. He hates you."

I shrugged and readjust my backpack strap. "I don't care."

Clara was staring. "You should."

I turned around and was about to head out the door, when Clara grabbed my arm. Ew, no get off.

"You should care Alison, because if you're parents hear," she leaned in, her face close to mine, and her hushed breaths smelling like fries, "they'll kill you."

I looked away and tried to keep my food down. "I'll keep that in mind," I said and then Clara gave me an annoyed squint, and sashayed away.

Typical.

I sighed and re-tied my hair before I walked down the hall, made a right and went to find Two-Bit. I hoped he hadn't skipped the only class we had together. I quickly made my way down the hall and entered my classroom.

But after the bell rang I started to think he skipped again. So I waited ten more minutes —because sometimes he strolled in around that time— but he didn't appear.

"Okay, students," our annoying teacher began. "In a second we'll partner up." She kept fumbling with the papers in her hand. "Today we'll be starting a new project, but this time, it'll be small."

I sighed, and thought, _Great_. And so, I turned around in my seat to see the people behind me. I saw some people nodding to each other, some simply giving each other looks and I heard others calling to their friends from across the room.

 _Oh, Two-Bit_ , I thought. _I don't know anyone here._

 **. . . . .**

I had actually been thinking on working on the new project alone. And if that didn't work out and my teacher said that wasn't acceptable, I would tell my teacher that Two-Bit was my partner, despite the fact that he wasn't in class. But then this kid sat down right next to me as the teacher was gathering her things.

"You did the mountain range thing right? Mach _u_ Picch _u_?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and tried not to grimace at the some-what okay pronunciation. "M _a_ chu Picchu," I corrected.

He waved a hand in dismissal as if it wasn't important. "Same thing, but hey, you did really good in that project. I bet the greaser you got paired up with did nothing. Am I right? I heard he's dumb as rocks.."

The comment made me want to punch this kid in his perfect white teeth. "Two-Bit helped a little," I said, remembering. "But he's not dumb."

The guy was looking at me. "My name is Jackson," he said.

"Okay," I answered.

"Is it true you kissed a greaser?" he asked suddenly.

Great wow, another person who heard. I sighed and said, "Yes."

"Why?" He looked around like he was trying to beat up any greaser that was in the room. He was eyeing some guys in the back and said, "Did he force you? Do Bob and I need to beat up-"

"No, no." I sighed and knew that I needed to talk with Bob. "I kissed him."

"You did," he said, but it wasn't a question. "Why?"

"Because I like him and he likes me. Can you go now? I want to work on this project alone," I said.

Jackson widened his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, um, we can't work alone, but there was one one else."

"So you want to be _my_ partner?" I asked.

"Yeah, sorry for the whole deal. Bob wanted to know." Jackson got comfortable beside me. "He's a good brother, you know. He's worried about you."

"Yeah, yeah," I snapped. "He always tells me that despite the fact that I _told_ him already everything was fine."

Jackson shrugged. "Okay. Let's get started."

"Oh, boy," I said dryly. "I can't wait to learn about the Enlightenment."

 **o-O-o-O-o-O-o**

After school I scoured the halls for Two-Bit, or Ponyboy, and Johnny, but I couldn't find them anywhere. Until, that is, when I found Two-Bit. He was sleeping in the janitor's closet.

"Two-Bit," I asked suddenly, causing him to jump. "There's been around five people who came up to me and asked me if it was true if I kissed, _I,_ a _soc_ , kissed a _greaser._ "

Two-Bit yawned and stood up. "What time is it?"

"2: 30," I replied quickly. "So, did you tell anyone I kissed I greaser?"

Two-Bit rubbed his eyes and stretched. Once he did, he was back on his game because he faked a surprised and excited look. "And did you?"

I stared at him, and cracked a small smile. "Who'd you tell Two-Bit? Because if words spread, my parents will sure I never see the light of day again."

Two-Bit stopped smiling. "That's something Johnny´s parents would do . . . " But then he walked past me and went out into the hall.

"I told Dally," he said.

"Ponyboy and Cherry might already know. The other girl, Marcia, too. She can't keep her mouth shut to save her life. Always gossiping and saying stuff." Two-BIt smiled and took a large step. "She's like me."

"Two-Bit," I said impatiently and walked more slowly so that he'd catch up. "Does anyone else know?"

"Naw, I doubt it. I bet Dally told Tim's gang, though. But they already knew you too were gonna kiss one of these days." Two-Bit smirked. "It seems like you like Johnny more than Dally."

"Of course I do," I said. "Johnny-"

Two-Bit stopped. "Is that your brother?"

I stopped walking and looked down the hall. Bob seemed like he was talking with someone. They pointed in my direction and Bob turned, saw me and Two-BIt and began to jog towards us.

"Well, I heard that Bob was the one who tried to drown Pony, so I gotta go." Two-Bit turned. "See you soon Ali!"

Thankfully, he ran out the doors before Bob could throw any curses at him. Or before a fight would start.

Bob was looking pretty pissed. He softly pulled me by the wrist and looked around. "I heard more rumors Ali," he said. "I saw you with a greaser now, too. I guess that's okay . . . but please tell me you didn't kiss a greaser."

I felt my cheeks heat up and I tugged at my backpack strings. "I did," I answered tensely.

Bob looked distraught as he looked away. "I'm going to beat them up-" and then he quickly looked back at me. "Don't you dare tell me it was that Dallas Winston, because then, it's not mom and dad you have to worry about-"

"No," I cut in, my voice hard. "I kissed the small kid, the one you beat up and almost killed, remember him? His name is Johnny Cade."

Bob scowled, and released me. "You should be thanking me," he said. "I'm cleaning up your mess. I told them we had a cousin that looked like you. And that they were a rebel, and that they were just passing by."

"Well I'm not thanking you," I said. "Because you don't have to clean up my mess."

Bob was pacing and rubbing his forehead. "I'm trying to help you," he said, his voice was lower. "I was drunk that night, and I'm already sorry for what I did, but if mom and dad find out, well, I don't know what will happen."

I pretended I hadn't heard what he'd said. "You never apologized to him. It's been a while, it's been a long time."

"I'm not apologizing to a greaser," he said calmly. "No way."

"Then stop bothering me, because everything is fine, okay?" I pushed past him. "I'll deal with mom and dad when it comes to it okay? And if they demand to know why, I'll say I'm going through a rebellious age."

I heard Bob walking behind me. "Okay, sure," he said.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I'm going to Cherry's tonight."

Bob didn't say anything but nodded glumly.

 **o-O-o-O-o-O-o**

 **(THIRD PERSON POV)**

 **DALLY'S P.O.V**

Dally was laying on one of the Curtis' old couches when Two-Bit burst in. His eyes were wild and he was panting and Dally knew he was going to get a headache. He sighed. He knew he should've gone to Buck's.

But luckily, Two-Bit didn't start singing obnoxiously at the top of his lungs and he didn't jump where Dally lay. Instead he went to get some water from the kitchen, and when he had done so, he went back to where Dally was looking at him.

"Did you tell anyone about what I told you?" Two-Bit asked.

Dally squinted at him and propped himself on his elbow. "What are you talking about? Where'd you come from anyways?"

Two-Bit sat down in the stool next to him. "I was at school-"

"I thought you skipped today. You just missed Pony, but he said he didn't see you."

"Well I technically did skip because I fell asleep in the janitor's closet during fourth period," Two-Bit answered and he smiled a little bit.

Dally chuckled. "Man, was it Nick's closet?"

Two-Bit shrugged. "Nick The Janitor? No, I don't think so, but anyways, did you tell anyone?"

"Tell anyone about what?" Dally asked. He was trying to remember what Two-Bit had told him, but nothing struck him as important. ALmost all his conversation with Two-Bit weren't important. "Was it important?"

"It was about Johnny-"

 _Oh_. Oh, damn. He's forgotten to go look for him. Dally was getting ready to sit up, roll over and stand up. He was trying to act nonchalantly, but he almost fell.

"-and Ali," Two-Bit finished and he didn't even smirk.

 _Oh._ Okay, Dally stopped moving, but now he was in sitting position. Ali really wasn't that important. The last time he'd tried to get involved with her he got beaten black and blue by Tim. (He ignored the fact that he'd slashed Tim's tires all on his own)

"You mean that broad, right?" Dally asked finally. He racked his brain until he remembered. "Uh, yeah." He snapped his fingers. "She kissed Johnny right?"

The thought still made his squirm.

"Yeah, that's right," Two-Bit replied. "Didya tell anyone?"

"No."

Suddenly Ponyboy burst through the door. "Is Sodapop here?" He yelled out and came inside.

Johnny followed close behind. "I told you he wasn't here," he said.

Dally nodded at the kid and at Johnny. "Sup, boys."

Ponyboy went on calling. "Soda! Sodapop!"

Johnny looked at Dally and waved. "Hi, Dally."

Dally stood up slowly. "Hey, kid. How's everything?" Dally hoped that Johnny wouldn't say anything about how they'd been avoiding each other. _No, it isn't avoiding,_ Dally thought. _I just haven't had enough time._

"Nothing much, but Pony's looking for Soda cause he wants to go to the movie house," Johnny answered. "He wants to see if Soda wants to go."

" _SODA!"_

Dally sighed. "Doesn't that kid know his brother isn't here?"

"He'll find out soon," Johnny said.

Two-Bit was sitting on the floor, tucked away in the corner. "Heya Johnnycake, didya forget about me?" he asked and Johnny turned around quickly.

"Didn't see you there," he said.

"Yep. So who else are you going with to the movie house?" Two-Bit asked.

"Pony," Johnny said. "And Cherry and Ali. And maybe Marcia. She's one of their friends."

Two-Bit sprang up so fast he almost fell. "Count me in." He turned to Dally. "You got nothing else to do, wanna join?"

Dally looked at Johnny as he was looking up the stairs where the stomping noises were. "Sure," he said. "I'll go, if Johnny and Pony don't mind."

Ponyboy came back down the stairs stomping. "Soda isn't here, but I guess it'd be okay if I didn't ask him."

Dally started to head out the door as Two-Bit told both of them that Darry wouldn't worry because they were with them. He kept in front of the group and walked rather fast.

 **. . . . .**

The first thing Dally saw was the bright yellow shirt of Ali. And then Cherry's pink blouse and then the other girl's hair, — the one he assume was Marcia. And when Ali spotted him, she kept her head held high.

"Hello Ali," Dally said, and coughed. "What are you doing' here, in this part of town?"

Cherry went right to Pony and their conversation about books could be heard as they walked inside. Marcia kept close behind Cherry and eyed Dally as she went on by. And Two-Bit was right at her heels too.

"I thought you knew," Ali said. "It's pretty obvious. I'm here to see a movie."

Dally raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I want to?" Ali rolled her eyes and made her way inside. "Why are you doing here? I thought you didn't like watching movies."

Dally wrinkled his nose. "Who told you that?" he asked.

"Johnny."

 **. . . . .**

Dally would never admit it, but that movie he'd seen was pretty good. He like the part where the chicks were in bathing suites that best. Two-Bit and Marcia were the loud ones of course, and he'd almost slapped Two-Bit in the face to make him shut up, but he didn't. Maybe Johnny was rubbing off him.

Dally lazily walked out onto the streets and lit a smoke. He needed to fight Tim as soon as he could.

Ponyboy was smiling. "That was a pretty good movie," he said.

"I couldn't pay attention to the movie," Two-Bit said.

"Why?" Marcia asked.

Dally and everyone (including Ali and Cherry) were waiting for the humiliation Two-Bit was about to put himself in. They already knew it was going to be bad.

"Because I was mesmerized by the beauty beside me," he said and looked at Marcia.

"You were staring at me the whole time?" she asked. "That's kinda creepy."

Everyone saw as Two-Bit's mouth hung open. They saw the gears in his brain turning. "What? No, I didn't mean it like that-"

"You boys," Marcia clucked. "How do you expect to reel in the ladies with the intense starting?"

"Buh, but-"

Ali laughed. "Two-Bit, you pining after my dear friend?"

"You know stuff, Ali," he said with confidence. Then he turned to Marcia. "Lady, allow me to accompany you home."

Marcia nodded. "Sure, I'll allow it."

Two-Bit smiled and held out his hand. "Allow me."

"No thank you," Marcia said.

 **. . . . .**

Dally burst out laughing once they were gone. "Man, she stood him up so badly, I doubt he's going-"

"Marcia isn't like that," Ali cut in before Dally could finish his last words. "She gets to know people first, and not even _then_ does she kiss."

Dally narrowed his eyes. "You didn't even know what I was going to say."

"We all knew what you were going to say," he said softly.

Dally turned around and saw that Ponyboy was clasping and unclasping his hands together. Cherry was glaring daggers at him, and Ali was holding her head up high again.

"I'm leaving," he stated.

"See you soon Dally," Ali called out. "See you real soon."

Dally turned around and glanced at Johnny. He smirked at him, and Johnny gaped in surprised. _Man_ , he thought. _All these broads are getting too confident these days._

Then he walked off into the night, and smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** I didn't really like the ending, or the chapter in general, but you guys have been waiting for so long. This is really slow burn, and I hate it . On the other hand, I'm playing a piano song called _Malaguena._ I already memorized all the pages, I just need the speed.


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